


Cruel Fate, Kind Destiny

by arhi (rigatona), WesDunne



Category: Naruto
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-28
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2017-12-16 10:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 379,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/860964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rigatona/pseuds/arhi, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WesDunne/pseuds/WesDunne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A single act of kindness can ripple outward, like a stone cast into still water. When Naruto is taken in by Iruka at a young age, his life changes in ways he never could have imagined. From the untold days of Naruto's youth, small ripples will become waves to alter the destinies of those around him. AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first and thus far only fanfic, initially hosted only on Fanfiction.net. My beta, Rhi, recommended I cross-post it here. For information about how the next chapter is coming along, feel free to check my profile on FF.net under the same name.
> 
> Hope you enjoy it!

“Naruto again?”  Iruka’s grimace seemed particularly severe as he squinted against the light from the morning sun.  It wasn’t as if these events had gotten worse, but their frequency appeared to have spiked dramatically in recent weeks.  “And where is he now?”

“Laughing like a madman and leading a few jōnin on a chase through town,” Mizuki sighed, shaking his head.  “Why the Sandaime allows him to continue living in the village is beyond me.  He’s a nuisance, discounting simply _what_ he is.”  There had been a significant pause in the man’s statement that Iruka hadn’t failed to pick up on.  But then, many of the villagers and shinobi of Konohagakure had similar feelings about Uzumaki Naruto.  If his fate had been left in their hands, he would not have survived past the day of his birth.

Both instructors were standing at the base of the Hokage’s Tower.  If it had been a normal morning most of the citizens would be bustling by on their way to this or that, perhaps nodding respectfully to the two chūnin.  Instead, a small crowd was gathered just behind the pair, and they did little to hide their gawking and angry muttering.  The object of every person’s attention was a large swath of graffiti, which depicted crude representations of the Sandaime and a handful of senior staff.  Calling the images rude would be the understatement of the century.  Even Iruka had to admit that it would be hard to pin this prank on anybody other than the Uzumaki boy.

As the onlookers turned into an increasingly outraged rabble, the scarred chūnin closed his eyes, thinking back on the words the Hokage had recently imparted.

_“Iruka . . . Naruto grew up without knowing the love of a parent, and for so long he has been treated poorly because of his birthright.  He has to pull those pranks to get attention.  Whatever the form, he wants somebody to recognize his existence.”_

Iruka ground his teeth, turning on the crowd with a sharp look that quieted even the most disgruntled onlooker.  “The situation is being handled.  Please return to your duties.”  It was a slow dispersal, but at least they all left without making a scene.  Mizuki glanced at him with a quirked eyebrow before shaking his head and sidling off towards the academy building.  Iruka stared up at the ‘mural’ for a long moment, considering his leader’s words again.  He had been struggling with a difficult decision for weeks, but it seemed that he had finally stumbled upon an answer.  With a sigh he turned and leapt onto the nearest building, making his way towards where he knew Naruto would be hiding.

* - * - * - * - *

It had taken a few minutes, but Naruto had successfully evaded his pursuers and now sat lounging against a tree with a cheeky grin on his face.  The youth was average in many ways, although his height was nothing to be jealous of.  One might even consider the six-year-old cute if they could look past arguably ridiculous green aviator goggles on his forehead, or the whisker-like scars on his cheeks.  But that was all anybody ever saw.  When they looked at Naruto, it was the Kyūbi no Kitsune that forced its way into their minds.  To them, Naruto was a haunting reminder from a dark past.  The amiable blond, however, knew nothing of this history.  All he knew was that the villagers hated him.

His smile faltered and faded as the citizens came back to his mind.  The previously elated expression soured as he pouted to himself in a low mumble.  “Not my fault they don’t like my artwork.  Jerks.”  It was difficult for him to grapple with emotions and deal with hardships in life that most people barely even considered.  He had been an orphan from birth, so he had been told, and no one in the village had been willing to take him in.  The Sandaime had set him up with an apartment and a weekly stipend after the orphanage had removed him from its care.  Apart from the Hokage – who obviously had very little time to spend with Naruto in the first place – there was only one other person that had ever expressed a benign interest in him.

 _Iruka-sensei._   The thought came as the man in question appeared in front of him, arms folded and looking cross.  Iruka was not actually Naruto’s teacher, but for better or worse the child seemed to have adopted him as a loose relative after being shown only a modicum of kindness.  “Oh, hey Iruka-sensei,” he chimed, with only a small amount of pink coming to his face to indicate any embarrassment at being caught.  His sole role-model’s petulant look told him that a lecture was coming.

“Naruto, this is the third incident this week, and one of your worst to date.  What were you thinking when you decided to publicly insult the Hokage, who has shown you nothing but good intentions your whole life?”  Nothing was said about the other members included in the graffiti; Iruka knew the reaction he would get simply by mentioning the old man.  “If your dream is to become the best Hokage that Konoha has ever seen, why would you do such a thing?  Why, Naruto?”  He knew what answer that he’d get, but he wanted to hear the boy to say it.

“It’s funny seeing the villagers react,” he grumbled, pouting and averting his eyes from Iruka’s chastising gaze.  A quick glance back showed the chūnin raising eyebrow, as if to say ‘Is that all?’  Naruto sighed, folding his arms.  “I don’t know.”  The response was honest, Iruka knew; how was a six-year-old supposed to explain that his actions were meant to instigate a reaction from people in order to garner attention?  The Sandaime’s words echoed again in the man’s mind.  With a tired exhale Iruka stepped over to the broad tree trunk, sliding down it to settle next to the troublemaker.

“Look, Naruto,” he began, staring up at the summer sky.  “I know you want the village to recognize you, or at the very least not spurn you at every turn.”  The questioning look in the boy’s eyes elicited a fond eye roll.  “To not hate you, I mean.”  The blond’s grimace returned swiftly at the more explicit term.  The question was coming; he could see the words forming on Naruto’s lips, and he held up a hand.  “I’ve told you already: I can’t tell you why they do, at least not beyond saying that they’re foolish.  Anyway, as I was saying, this isn’t the way to go about getting people to acknowledge you.  You want to become a ninja, right?”  The boy’s vigorous nodding only confirmed his passion.  “And you know that to become Hokage you have to be a really strong ninja, right?”  Another nod.  “Then why not focus all of this energy you seem to have on training instead?  Pick up a kunai or a few shuriken and do some target practice, try some sparring, or go to the library and . . .” Naruto’s features had gotten darker and darker as his mentor continued, until finally he was simply staring at the ground.  Iruka stopped, hesitant to inquire; the boy saved him the trouble.

“Iruka-sensei, none of the stores will sell me any ninja stuff.   I can only practice my taijutsu on the wooden training posts, and the library is always closed.”  The chūnin had to bite his tongue to keep himself from commenting on the last note.  The library was _never_ closed, but the keepers obviously felt the same as the shop owners did.  It was hard to look at the downtrodden orphan, the child that should have been revered by all reduced to the village prankster because of unreasonable cruelty.  Iruka stamped down the righteous anger building in his chest before continuing.

“I want to ask you something, Naruto,” he began hesitantly, not sure if even he was ready for what was about to leave his mouth.  The somber blond looked up questioningly, the rims of his eyes shimmering with unshed tears of frustration.  It was hard to look into those blue eyes and see the little boy inside instead of the demon fox that had killed Iruka’s parents.  But that was the difference between the chūnin and most of the village: he knew that Naruto was a normal child, simply suffering from the refusal of his whole world to accept him, and all because of something that was outside of his own control.  “Would you like to come live with me?”

The silence that followed was deafening.  Naruto’s eyes widened, narrowed suspiciously like he was expecting some kind of trick, then widened again when he realized that the man was serious.  After lacking a response for a few moments, Iruka coughed and continued a bit awkwardly.  “I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.  I know you don’t like having supervision, and you probably don’t want an adult looking over your shoulder constantly, and . . .” He trailed off lamely, rubbing the back of his neck.  Naruto seemed to be even more upset now, his face contorted with tears beginning to escape down his scarred cheeks.  Iruka nearly apologized and retracted the offer when the small boy gripped his sleeve tightly.  No response was given in words.  The huge, ridiculous smile and unchecked tears streaming down his face were answers enough.

It took a while for Naruto to get himself together enough to talk again, but once he did his exuberance was palpable.  Iruka understood more than most what not having parents meant for a child growing up.  The poor boy’s reaction only confirmed what he had learned on his own: more than anything else, Naruto wanted a family, somewhere he could be appreciated just for being himself.  It may not be everything a normal child had, but for Konoha’s pariah – the boy shunned from birth – it was the world.

_I’ll do my best, Yondaime, to see your son become the man you would have wanted him to be._

* - * - *- * - *

If gossip were a sport, the citizens of Konoha would likely be the best in the world.  Their whispers naturally frequented topics involving Naruto, although recently for reasons other than his unmentionable heritage and history.  Rumor had it that an academy instructor had adopted the boy – one Umino Iruka.  Of course, while in a normal society the charitable act of adoption might raise a person’s status to some degree, this was a special case.  The adoptee was Uzumaki Naruto, the Kyūbi no Kitsune.  Almost overnight Iruka became the talking point of the village, and almost as quickly began drawing the same looks his new house guest always garnered.  At first he would glare back, but when Naruto started mimicking the action he decided a change of tactics was necessary.  Instead, he smiled, and slowly the boy began smiling as well.  Naruto’s was more of a defiant smirk, but it was better than the alternative.

To say Naruto’s illicit activities ceased immediately would be twisting the truth.  The problem was – as Iruka quickly learned – that no structure had ever been introduced into his life.  There were no consequences for his offenses, no praise for his accomplishments, and worst of all nobody to tell him the reasons behind anything.  The first few weeks were some of the hardest the chūnin had ever experienced.  Iruka was a teacher – although a fairly new one – and had some experience with kids.  But being an instructor was a far stretch from acting as a parent.  It took many hours speaking to the Hokage and discreetly asking the advice from unbiased parties to finally come up with a solution that worked.  Even then, it took nearly a month to see marked improvement in behavior.  But there it was.  Uzumaki Naruto, renowned thorn in the side of Konoha, was improving.  Through simply being consistent with punishments and criticisms, as well as always recognizing and praising his accomplishments, slowly but surely he stopped acting out.

About a month and a half after Naruto had moved into Iruka’s apartment, they were sitting together and having a one-sided discussion on table manners.  Iruka could tell he wasn’t so much being ignored as Naruto had started to think of something else that had been on his mind.  Living together for a while had given the shinobi a better grasp of how the boy’s mind worked.   “What is it, Naruto?  You seem distracted by something.”

“Ano, Iruka-sensei?” he asked uncomfortably, shifting around a few bits of rice with his chopsticks.  Another marked change Iruka had been thankful to see was that Naruto seemed to think a lot more before something burst from his mouth unfiltered.  He had not opened up much, but the boy dwelled on things to a greater extent than Iruka had thought.  “You said that I should uh, focus my energies on being a great ninja, right?”  He stopped for a moment at the man’s nod.  “Well, I was just thinking, ‘cause uh, most kids start at the academy at my age.  I was just wondering . . .” he repeated with failing confidence, looking down at his food.

“I already put in your paperwork,” Iruka grinned, knowing where the question was leading.  “You’ll be starting at the academy after the summer session is concluded.”  He had wanted to keep it as a surprise for later, but now was as good a time as any other to tell him.  The way Naruto’s face lit up was a memory he was likely to keep for years to come.  There was no need to tell the ecstatic prospective genin the pains he had gone through to allow him admittance to the Ninja Academy.  The Hokage had personally pulled some strings for it to happen, for which Iruka had been extremely grateful – he was frustrated that such a thing had to be done, though.  Most of the administrators had refused to cooperate, forcing the Sandaime’s hand.  “We’re going to start training next week, alright?”

“But I thought I was going to the academy to learn things and train,” Naruto wondered aloud.  That was, Iruka supposed, a logical conclusion, but it simply wasn’t what was expected.

“Naruto, I know you’ve tried to practice on your own, but you’ll need to be a little more prepared.  Training to become a shinobi takes serious work and dedication, and you can bet your classmates will have received some sort of training from their families before getting to the academy.”  A scowl that began to deteriorate into a dejected frown prompted Iruka to continue quickly.  “And so, I need to make sure you’re up to speed so you can make a good impression.  Are you willing to train hard to become Hokage one day?”  The vigorous nod at mention of his dream seemed sincere.  Iruka felt a little guilty using the child’s aspirations as fuel for his passion, but if it got him motivated then there didn’t seem to be any harm in it.

The next month rivaled the first in its difficulties.  Even though Iruka spent hours explaining and demonstrating the simplest jutsu, his protégé couldn’t seem to mold chakra correctly.  As he was beginning to doubt that the boy could even become a ninja, the answer to his problems came in an unexpected manner.

One uneventful afternoon when Iruka was attempting to explain the chakra control necessary to create a bunshin, Naruto threw his version of a tantrum, sighing loudly and falling into the grass on his back.  “Ugh, Iruka-sensei!  I can’t concentrate like that!  You said I just need to mold the chakra and stuff, but how?  It’s like trying to grab one tiny ant from a big group that’s all running together!”  His frustrated noises quickly devolved into him simply grumbling on the ground.  The statement struck Iruka with a flash of inspiration, however.  It was just a theory, but he was willing to try anything at this point.  For some reason Naruto had some otherworldly stamina, and it could be connected.

After directing him to practice some hand seals, Iruka left to pay a visit to one of the most renowned ninjas in the village.  Hatake Kakashi was in his usual spot: by a bridge in the northern part of the village, lounging in a tree and reading one of his ‘adult-themed novels.’  “Kakashi-sama,” he began, stopped immediately by a raised hand that waved almost dismissively thereafter.

“Yo, Iruka-san.  I’ve told you that there’s no need to be so formal.”  He might be one of the most feared shinobi in the world, but he was also one of the most casual and least punctual.

“My apologies.  I was taught to always respect my superiors,” Iruka continued with a slight grin.  It was hard to feel intimidated by Kakashi sometimes, although the questioning look from that one visible eye made him fidget a little.  The mask over the jōnin’s nose and mouth didn’t help much either.  “I came to ask a favor, if you’re not too busy today.  I’ve been trying to work with Naruto on some chakra control, but he can’t seem to mold chakra as easily as other kids his age.  After three weeks of instruction there hasn’t been even a puff of wind to indicate a simple bunshin.  Don’t get me wrong – I don’t expect any kid his age to be able to perform the Bunshin no Jutsu successfully, but most can make some ambiguous figure.”  He took a deep breath, realizing that he was speaking quickly due to a touch of anxiety.  Kakashi, however, looked as impassive as always.  “I think it’s because Naruto has too much chakra – potentially many times the amount a six-year-old should possess.  I think it might have something to do with the Kyūbi.”  The last sentence was stated a bit more solemnly than the others, though his audience still failed to react.  “I was hoping that you might be able to demonstrate a clone technique that consumes a greater amount of chakra.  If my theory is correct, this could help him a great deal.”  A very long moment passed, during which Iruka tried not to quail under Kakashi’s flat gaze.  Finally, a curt nod indicated his agreement, although it seemed reluctant.

“The only higher level bunshin technique he could perform – without knowing his element – is the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.  But as a B-rank jutsu, you should know that there’s no way he’ll be able to do it,” Kakashi cautioned as they made their way back to where Naruto was practicing.  It seemed that Iruka was taking this boy’s development seriously, something the jōnin had little to say about.

“I know, but I can’t perform the technique, and it’s just a hunch.”  It was a lame response, but it was all he had.  Iruka remained silent for the remainder of the short walk, arriving to see Naruto still screwing up his face in concentration and holding his hands in an imitation of the tiger seal.  “Naruto, this is Hatake Kakashi.  He is a jōnin that’s mastered over a thousand jutsu.”  That was bound to get his attention and respect.  As anticipated, the blond’s eyes turned into saucers as he bowed like Iruka had taught him.  “Now, Kakashi-sama is going to explain a different jutsu to you, alright?  Please give him your full attention.”  Excited nodding ensued.

“Hmm,” Kakashi began, dropping unceremoniously to the ground into a cross-legged position.  The boy was more respectful than he had expected, at least.  “Well Naruto-kun, this is a more advanced clone technique called Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.  It takes a lot more chakra to use, and there’s a different seal for it . . .” As the legendary jōnin began explaining exactly how to perform the jutsu, Iruka gratefully noted that the man was treating Naruto like an adult, and more importantly like a real person.  After Kakashi completed his explanation – following an energetic nod from the youngster – he agreed to demonstrate.

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.”  In the blink of an eye and a puff of white smoke, there was another Hatake Kakashi was sitting next to the original, indistinguishable.  What surprised Naruto the most was that the bunshin started talking to him, rather than the real Kakashi.  “Now, the neat thing about this ability is that when you make a copy of yourself, it retains a portion of your consciousness.”  Naruto blinked at him, confused. Kakashi blinked back, not used to explaining things to children his age.  “It has a mind of its own.”  An attentive and excited nod ensured his message had been understood this time.  “Additionally, the two main benefits of the Kage Bunshin is that it can mold chakra just like you, and when it’s destroyed you gain the memories the clone experienced.  Do you understand?”  A very slow nod accompanied a look that said ‘Not really, but sort of.’

“Just give it a try, Naruto,” Iruka encouraged.  Naruto dropped into a cross-legged position – perhaps assuming that it was necessary since Kakashi had done so – and concentrated.  The silver-haired man had said to use a funny hand seal where he crossed his index and middle fingers instead of the tiger seal used for a normal bunshin.  After a few minor corrections to his hand positioning, he tried molding the chakra like Kakashi had said to.  About ten seconds later, as Iruka was about to open his mouth and express his concern, Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs.

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!”  If Naruto had been a jōnin performing the technique, it would have been fair to have a hearty laugh at the result.  He was six, however.  Half of a square meter beside him had erupted in white smoke.  Rather, it fizzled.  A small and unrecognizable blob vaguely the color of his t-shirt and shorts had materialized, quivering for only a few seconds before going up in an alabaster mist.  Naruto just sat staring at the spot, unable to fully process what had happened.

“Well that was . . . unexpected,” Kakashi muttered, clearly surprised anything had happened at all.  A glance up at Iruka showed a shocked but simultaneously satisfied expression.

“Naruto that was great!”  Iruka’s exuberance snapped Naruto from his momentary daze.

“But sensei, it didn’t work,” he responded, perplexed and disappointed.  He had not been expecting much after his days of failure, but after seeing the plume of smoke his hopes had shot up.  Oddly, it was Kakashi who responded first.

“Naruto, you need to understand that this is a pretty advanced jutsu.  It’s impressive that you managed to do anything with it at all.”  Iruka smiled appreciatively at his superior, knowing the effect that the other man’s praise would have on a child that had only received it from one source prior.  A broad, bashful grin spread across Naruto’s face as he acknowledged the compliment with a bow, scratching at the back of his neck embarrassedly.  Iruka was beginning to wonder if the boy had picked up that quirk from him.

* - * - * - * - *

The rest of summer went by quickly.  With chakra control worked out – in theory at least – the remainder was spent getting Naruto’s basic taijutsu forms up to par and working with kunai and shuriken.  It was incredible how eager he was to learn and train.  On days Iruka was busy, Naruto would take it upon himself to practice, and often even on days his sensei was free he would begin and end far outside of the chūnin’s availability.

Before he knew it, Iruka was preparing for classes to begin in only a week’s time.  Naruto had finally removed his aviator goggles in favor of a simple indigo headband tied the style of a hitai-ate.  His wardrobe had changed to consist primarily of grey t-shirts and beige cargo shorts that reached just past his knees.  Iruka was sure his tastes would change as he grew older, but at least he had been able to pick his own clothes for once.  Some ‘encouragement’ had been offered to the shop keepers, of course.

The night before his first day of class, Naruto approached the man he had nearly called ‘dad’ a few times now.  “Um, Iruka-sensei?  I know you’re going to be my instructor for classes, but I don’t want any special treatment okay?”  There was a defiant spark in his eyes that Iruka would not forget any time soon.  It reminded him a bit of the rebellious Naruto of the past, but spoke more of the young man standing before him now.  He wanted to be the best ninja he could be, using only his own strength and determination.

“I promise I won’t, Naruto.  I know you’ll excel on your own power.”  Furrowed brows communicated that his words hadn’t quite registered.  With a fond ruffle of the boy’s hair Iruka pulled him into a hug, the first time he had done so since welcoming the blond to his home.  Naruto froze momentarily, causing Iruka to quickly relax his hold and back off, thinking a boundary may have been crossed.  However, a tight grip pulled him back, a few errant sniffs tugging a soft smile to the shinobi’s lips.

_Minato, Kushina – tomorrow your son begins his journey to follow in your great footsteps._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks.
> 
> This is my first attempt at fanfiction writing, something I was inspired to do after reading S'TarKan's "Team 8" story. I was also having trouble finding something I wanted in a fic, that being a realistically developing relationship between Naruto and Hinata, so I decided to go for it on my own and see how it turned out.
> 
> This story focuses on Naruto and his team's developments based on a few changes early in their life. These alterations will have a ripple effect in a way, and as the story continues it can be expected that a greater number of things will be different than they are in canon. As an additional note, Naruto's lineage is known in this AU because I purposefully filled in the plot hole left by Kishimoto. If you have any questions about that in particular, feel free to send me a PM!
> 
> I went back and edited this chapter around the 200k word mark, mainly for clarity and flow. A caution for those looking for an immediate introduction to the AU: I am basically rewriting the Naruto story to give a solid frame of reference, beginning from five years prior to the start of canon. Is the story unique? I'd like to think so. There are important differences, there are major divergences, but the meta plot generally follows canon until around Chapter 17. I'd only ask for some patience, and I hope that you enjoy the journey of growing up with Naruto and company the way I always thought it should have happened.
> 
> Final note: I am a bit of a [read: hopeless] romantic. NaruHina will definitely be a thing, but at a reasonable pace. Sasuke hits the dating scene a lot later. Side fluff for some other favorites down the road, too.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> \- Wes


	2. Rough Start

The first three weeks at the academy went as Iruka expected, even if they were a little disappointing.  He had gotten his hopes up that things might be close to normal for Naruto now that he was attending classes nearly every day of the week, but it was not to be.  Despite the nearly two months of remedial training they had done the child was still noticeably behind the majority of his peers, struggling most with his ninjutsu studies.  In taijutsu he fared a bit better, if only because he would tire out his opponent and gain the upper hand over the long run.  The unnatural endurance and ‘never give up’ attitude that Naruto had adopted proved frustrating for some of the prospective genin to deal with sometimes, but that was the least of his worries.

“Iruka-sensei, none of my classmates want to talk to me,” Naruto lamented one afternoon, kicking a stone along the road back to Iruka’s home.  The chunin should have anticipated this, of course, but he had been so focused on making sure that the blond had been ready for training that the social aspect had been largely overlooked.  Of course Naruto would want to make friends; what six-year-old did not?  Only now did Iruka truly realize that the youth’s ostracization had been passed on to his classmates by their parents.  This would take some delicate explaining.

“That’s not true,” Iruka began lightly, ruffling Naruto’s spiky blond hair and eliciting an insincere scowl.  “I think the Hyuga girl would talk to you if you tried.”  It was difficult not to notice the way the insufferably shy brunette watched Naruto from her seat at the back of the class, a mix of genuine curiosity and infantile admiration evident in her opalescent, pupil-less eyes.  Naruto had naturally taken to being overtly friendly and a bit loud in class, apparently destined to be the class clown in a way.  Iruka could not really blame him, either; after years of simply being ignored and even openly despised, it was no wonder he began seeking attention in such ways.

“Who?” he asked with a furrowed brow, trying to remember her from their class introductions.  A minute or two of thinking brought him to the answer.  “Oh, Hinata-san?  Isn’t she the one with weird eyes and red face?”

“Naruto!” Iruka scolded, though the youth’s observations were not entirely inaccurate.  “Hinata is a very nice girl, and her eyes are like that because of her family’s bloodline ability.”  As he expected, Naruto’s face appeared to be the epitome of confusion.  Nobody had ever explained the concept to him before.  “Some people have what are called bloodline limits,” he explained as they rounded a corner, adopting his lecturing tone.  “These are certain special abilities they inherit from their families that can’t be learned by anybody else.  Hinata possesses the Byakugan, which uses her eyes to um . . .” He hesitated in his explanation, considering phrasing that the child would understand.  “It lets her see through things and at a much further distance than normal.  She can also see the chakra inside of people.”  Saucer-like eyes stared up at him in rapt attention, fascinated by the concept.  “Uchiha Sasuke, another of your classmates, also comes from a family with a bloodline ability.  The Sharingan is another one that uses your eyes, but it lets um . . . It lets him copy a lot of jutsus just by seeing them, and can make him move faster.”  It was not a precise explanation, but one that would make sense.

“Sensei that’s not fair!”  Naruto had stopped and was looking up at him with a mix of chagrin and indignation.  “Why do they get special stuff like that?”  Iruka could see where the boy was coming from, so he was careful with a response.  The last thing he wanted was Naruto holding a grudge or becoming upset with his classmates for something that they had no control over.  The irony of such a situation would be tragic.

“They were just born into their families, Naruto.  You can’t be mad at them because of something outside of their own control.  And just because they have those techniques doesn’t mean they are automatically stronger; it takes more than just special skills to become a great ninja.”  Naruto looked a bit dubious but nodded.  Iruka could see the gears turning, trying to decide what to do with the new information.

“I guess.  Hey, do you think I should try to be their friends?” he asked hopefully, the doubt already apparent in his voice.  While the Hyuga girl seemed to hold no ill will towards Naruto, the Uchiha boy looked at him with at least a moderate amount of distaste.  _Leave it to the Uchihas to indoctrinate their young with their own ignorance._

“I think that sounds great.  And remember what I told you: it’s up to you to make a good impression.  Even if you think somebody doesn’t like you, just show them how nice and hardworking you can be.  I bet they’ll come around.”  The jubilant smile and nod was priceless.  As they walked the remaining distance back to his apartment, Iruka wondered if it was wrong to get Naruto’s hopes up.  _Well, if he really wants to become Hokage one day he needs to start changing minds.  What better minds to change than those of his peers?_

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Unfortunately, altering predispositions proved more difficult than Iruka had anticipated.  Naruto did not give up on his ‘in-your-face’ nigh constant exuberance, something that made some edge away from him.  However, as Iruka observed the behavior of his student it became increasingly apparent that the attitude was merely a front.  Naruto was _nervous_ around his peers, and rather than act aloof and reserved like some of his classmates – Aburame Shino, for example – he became extremely extroverted.  In reality, the boy just did not know how to engage others in casual conversation, a skill that most youths his age unabashedly possessed and acted on.

Months passed with little to show in terms of improvements, at least in the social realm.  Naruto possessed a surprising amount of motivation despite his situation, something Iruka supposed he would have needed to have in order to survive that long in the village.  Unable to form connections with his classmates, the blond took his unspoken frustration out on training.  Logically considered, social skills were entirely foreign and a pain to learn for a youth that  had basically raised himself.  Exercise and self-instruction were an escape of sorts, leading to spending many extra hours honing his skills, gradually closing the gap that still existed between his fellow students.

“Up early again, I see,” Iruka observed with a yawn one morning in early December.  Recently Naruto had been getting up even earlier than his teacher to do some light physical exercise.  This was the third time in a week Iruka had woken up to find his student doing pushups on the living room floor.  It was impossible to argue that training so much was not admirable, but it was not the discipline that worried him.  The longer he failed to form friendships with his classmates, the more at risk he was of becoming isolated, eventually sinking into himself entirely.  Many of the children in Naruto’s class had already formed cliques, something unavoidable for youths, and the longer this persisted the harder it would get.  An abuse of power was in order.

“All right students, quiet down please,” Iruka chided over the dull roar.  It was the last day of classes before the brief winter break, and the last few minutes of class at that.  Nearly everyone was buzzing with excitement.  “Now I still expect you all to train during your breaks.”  A familiar chorus of grumbles greeted his announcement, and he could not help but grin slightly.  “Come on now; you can’t expect to graduate and become great ninja if you don’t practice a lot.  That aside, I want you all to be aware that you will have new seating assignments when we resume classes next month.”  The complaining began almost immediately, but he merely held up a hand for silence and continued.  “Quiet down, quiet down.  If you want to sit next to somebody in particular, write down your requests on a piece of paper and hand it to me as you leave.  I won’t make any promises, but I will do my best to respect your wishes.  Remember, only three people can sit together in a row, and this is a full class of twenty-seven students.  You have to sit somewhere next to one or two of your classmates.”  With that, he waited as most of the children hurriedly scribbled a name or two on a scrap of paper before being dismissed.

As expected, Naruto shrugged and walked out first without placing a request.  Both the Haruno girl, Sakura, and Inoichi’s daughter Ino put in bids for Sasuke, who had managed to gain popularity on his looks and exceptional skills alone.  To be fair, the child did seem to work hard to be like his brother Itachi.  However, Sasuke seemed not to mind who he was put with and left in the same manner Naruto had.  The very last person to leave was Hinata, the diminutive heiress to the Hyuga family, approaching bashfully with a tiny scrap of paper clutched to her chest.  Iruka smiled encouragingly, which only proved to deepen the blush spreading across the girl’s cheeks.  In a rush she bowed and thrust the scrap atop the pile, almost running out of the room immediately thereafter.

Iruka shook his head with a knowing smile, shuffling the papers together before picking the top one off to read the small, eloquent, and incredibly formal script.

_“Hyuga Hinata requests to be seated next to Uzumaki Naruto.”_

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

It would not be until some time later that Iruka realized the incredible courage it had taken the young Hyuga to have even put forth her request, but he gladly abided by it.  He felt a pang of guilt at manipulating the classroom environment in Naruto’s favor, but quickly quashed the feeling after considering the advantages the rest of his students had obtained through a normal upbringing.  A promise had been made not to give Naruto any special treatment, but he had taken that in terms of academic assistance and (probably) not embarrassing the boy.  Iruka was doing what any . . . Parent . . . Might do for their child.  He cared about Naruto’s development, and knew that having even one or two friends would help tremendously.  He only hoped he had chosen the right ones to bet on.

As the class filed into the room on their first day of the spring semester, they automatically moved to their old seats, either in hopes that their teacher had forgotten to assign them or in genuine forgetfulness.  “Everybody to the front of the class, please,” he interrupted as the last student filed in.  Well, last two if you count the small white dog perched on his head.  Kiba appeared to have inherited the Inuzuka clan’s traits.  “It’s time to get your new seats for this semester.”  The expected groans came and went as the students moved sullenly to the front of the class.

The assignments appeared to largely follow the groups everybody had been sitting in originally with some changes here or there.  Choji, Shikamaru, and Ino were all put at a table together as per their parents request; they got along pretty well anyway, despite Ino’s dismay at not being placed next to Sasuke.  Shino, Kiba, and Sakura were placed in a row, the familiar whine from the pink-haired girl echoing her blonde friend.  Over half of the class had been placed before, without missing a beat, Iruka announced it.

“Moving on to the last set of seats near the window, starting in the back row: Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuga Hinata, and Uzumaki Naruto.  Please take your seats.  Next row . . .” As Iruka continued, the three blinking children failed to move for a moment, glancing at one another before the boy with ebony tresses shrugged and sauntered up to take the window seat.  Naruto watched after him for only a moment before smiling a little nervously at Hinata, who looked down quickly, face flushed and index fingers pushing together so hard the ends turned white.  Not wanting to hold up the rest of the students looking to get to their seats, he trotted quickly up to take a seat next to Sasuke, the last of the trio taking her seat quietly after the blond.

The rest of the seating finished without a hitch, although the slightest of frowns twitched at Iruka’s lips as he noted the state of that certain back row.  The Uchiha boy sat staring out the window, not really trying to be rude but just more interested in whatever the outside world had to offer at the moment.  Naruto was uncharacteristically quiet, hands in his lap and just looking around the room anxiously.  Hinata . . . Did what Hinata usually did, although with a lot more color in her face than normal: she sat there, fidgeting ever-so slightly, trying to appear as small as possible as if her presence might cause some huge inconvenience.  _Well, I didn’t expect them to hit it off immediately.  I just hope I did the right thing._

About a week later the first spark appeared.  Up until that point the three had not spoken much beyond necessary collaborative classwork.  Today was a team sparring match, where the class would split into groups of three and have multiple tag team matches against the rest of their peers.  The rules were simple: your group would choose a first opponent who would fight until knocked down – or until three points were scored against them – and then the next person would take their place and continue.  Matches would occur one at a time in a round-robin style.  The last team standing ‘won’ bragging rights until the next tournament.

To Iruka’s relief, Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke gravitated together almost immediately.  It was to be expected; the entire class, as a matter of fact, simply did the comfortable thing and formed groups according to their assigned rows.  After a moment of each of them looking at one another several times – Hinata more at the ground than any one of them – Naruto finally spoke up.  “Well, who wants to go first?”

“It should be somebody who can last longest, I think,” Sasuke offered thoughtfully, explaining the reasoning he had come up with.  “If one person can get through a lot of the teams by themselves, the other two will have a better chance with fewer people to fight right?”  The Hyuga girl nodded in agreement before looking back down, to the ground, tinges of pink visible already.  Naruto considered the proposal and shrugged.

“Well, Iruka-sensei always says I have a lot of uh . . . Stamina or endurance or something.  I can go first.”  The blond had placed both hands behind his head, looking a bit embarrassed at the admission.  Sasuke only nodded, Hinata mimicking his action and looking like she wanted to say something, but the words failed to escape.  “Alright!” Naruto exclaimed boisterously, feigned confidence returning as their teacher set up the first matches.

Iruka was surprised at his student’s abilities, to say the least.  It seemed some had taken his request seriously and worked on their taijutsu over the break, showing marked improvement from their last group sparring sessions.  A streak of pride shone through at Naruto’s performance, the dedication the boy had shown proven as he went through his first matches.  Before long it was clear which three teams would prevail.  Aside from Naruto’s team, the team consisting of Shino, Kiba, and Sakura was still standing with only Shino having been beaten.  Additionally Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji still stood in the ranks, the Nara boy currently fighting for his team with Choji in the last slot.

Naruto seemed to be breathing a bit heavily for once, which was not too surprising as he had persevered through a slew of opponents with several close calls.  At one point he had been down two points to zero against Shino, but held him off long enough to land a well-timed kick that took the bug-user off of his feet.  “Close one,” Sasuke had murmured, though seemed to have a growing respect for his comrade’s abilities.  Finally, it was Naruto’s turn again, this time against Kiba.  The Inuzuka boy had proven to be well adept at hand-to-hand combat, and it was almost immediately apparent who had the upper hand in their bout.

Faster than he would have liked Naruto was against the ropes, forced to spend most of his efforts defending and hardly getting the chance to go on the offensive.  Had he been less exhausted the encounter might have been more even.  However, the score was two to one in Kiba’s favor, and things did not look good for him.  “N-Naruto-kun . . .” a timid voice began, almost causing him to miss a block.  Hinata almost _never_ spoke unless spoken to, and even then usually a nod or quick shake of the head communicated what she needed to.  Not to mention, the honorific being so personal threw him off a little.  “Remember we’re here too . . .” She trailed off, no doubt hoping her encouragement had not come off negatively.  Sasuke, however, nodded and voiced his agreement.

Naruto smirked.  He knew that, of course, but he was not about to give up on his team.  The more he could get out the better chance they had to win.  “I know,” he grunted through an outside block, quickly pivoting to avoid a round kick aimed at his side.  “But we’re gonna win!”  The opportunity came unexpectedly as Kiba lunged for a hook, letting his guard down on the opposite side.  Naruto took the gamble, moving directly in the path of the blow and launching his own uppercut in response.  The effect was almost as desired.  With a simultaneous ‘umph’ both boys were knocked off of their feet, Kiba landing on his rear end while Naruto ended up flat on his back with a throbbing eye.  Despite the injury, he had the broadest grin on his face following a bark of laughter that could have made Akamaru – Kiba’s dog – jealous.  “Heh, oops!  Guess it’s up to you guys now.”

Iruka smiled, watching as his charge was helped to his feet by a concerned, flushed Hinata and a fairly impressed Sasuke.  _So it begins._

Sasuke opted to fight next, apologizing to Hinata a bit cockily.  “Sorry you didn’t get to fight today, Hinata-san,” he said emphatically, stepping up to the sparring circle.  The implication was not lost on the remaining students, instantly riled up by the brazen Uchiha.

Despite the confidence, even Sasuke would later admit (begrudgingly) that he had underestimated his opponents, namely Shikamaru.  As his first opponent, the Uchiha quickly learned the lesson that appearances were deceiving.  Shikamaru slept a lot, even in class, and expressed how everything seemed to be ‘troublesome’.  However, his taijutsu was nothing to scoff at, and before long the score was tied at two.  Both youths had been moving in a veritable frenzy, at least for their ages.  Shikamaru was noticeably more exhausted than his adversary, and just before they reengaged for what could have been the final time, he straightened and held up a hand.  “This is too troublesome.  You win.”  Without a further explanation, he shoved his hands in his pockets and trudged back to his team.  Sasuke blinked once or twice, but nodded and readied himself.

Sakura’s performance was dismal, to put it lightly.  It was apparent that the girl had put little effort in her physical training, or at least not at all in her forms.  She also seemed unable to concentrate against the boy that she always fawned over.  In less than thirty seconds Sasuke had handily scored his three points without having been touched, and it seemed he had used the match as a breather from the last one.  Iruka noted that the he had taken it easy, preferring to score easy points on her shoulders and side when he could easily have taken a rougher route.  _Nicer than I expected from an Uchiha._

“Alright tubby,” he sighed, motioning for Choji to come forward to be his last encounter.  “Let’s get this over with.”  Shikamaru winced as Choji’s eyes narrowed to slits.  Hinata gulped as the air around them seemed to grow heavier.  She muttered something incoherent about things that are not nice, eyes on the ground and fingers pressed together in worry.

The rotund boy stepped forward, shoving his chips in Shikamaru’s hand.  “You’ll regret that.”  Choji, who was normally unreadable and somewhat timid, seemed deathly serious after the insult.  Shikamaru quietly mentioned something about a ‘taboo’ to Ino.   Almost as soon as Iruka had signaled the match to start, several shocked gasps escaped the crowd.  One moment Sasuke was facing Choji, and the next he was sprawled on the ground with the wind knocked out of him, an angry Akimichi glaring down at him.  “I’m not fat, you jerk.  I’m just big boned.”  Ino giggled and cheered for the unexpected victory, though she was fuming immediately after at her teammate for being so harsh with Sasuke.

Sasuke returned to his group, shaking his head and looking depressed.  “Sorry . . . I guess I wasn’t ready for that.”  He made a mental note to _never_ call Choji fat again.  Iruka almost let a grin slip; it was good to see the proud boy humbled a bit.

“That’s alright Sasuke-san; you did great!  Ready to clean up, Hinata-san?”  The Hyuga looked mortified, shaking her head and backing up, which only caused Naruto to cock his head to the side and give her a quizzical look.  “C’mon, I know you’ll do great.  Just give it your best shot!”  A squeak escaped her mouth and she jumped in response to Naruto grabbing her hand and pulling her back towards the circle.  His big, encouraging smile gave her confidence, something that was entirely foreign to the heiress.  She nodded slowly and took a few tentative steps to stand in front of Choji, who still looked more than mildly annoyed at the earlier quip from Sasuke.

“Begin!”  At Iruka’s call, Choji moved into a basic taijutsu fighting stance before blinking at Hinata.  It was well known that the Hyuga fought differently than most ninja, using the Jyuken style that was developed for their bloodline ability.  Even with that knowledge, without having seen it before her stance looked . . . Weird.  As soon as the girl had lowered into her stance, the timidity washed away to reveal a focused youth, no doubt years into her special taijutsu training already.  The light flush remained, but Hinata was all business, determined not to let her team down.

The sight of his quiet classmate suddenly looking fierce took the anger out of Choji.  He gulped, not sure what to think.His time for thinking was quickly over when a barrage of palm strikes from the diminutive Hinata rattled his guard, from the very beginning just struggling to keep up with her pace.  Naruto and Sasuke sat gawking a few meters back, wondering why they had only seen basic taijutsu from their classmate up until that point.

The match was decided faster than Sasuke’s bout with Sakura, concluding with a tumult of applause and excited shouts from the rest of the students.  Choji bowed and shuffled back to his team, apologizing several times to them and looking crestfallen.  Hinata immediately bowed and scurried back into the crowd to rejoin her team.  Her face was burning with the praise coming from every direction.  No amount of stuttering insistence that she did not deserve it helped until Iruka came to her rescue.

“Alright everyone, good work today.  We had this exercise so that you all could find some of your own strengths and weaknesses, and maybe learn a little teamwork along the way.  I want you all to work hard on your taijutsu; I’ll be disappointed if we don’t have a different winning team every week!”  With a chorus of ‘Yes sensei!’ they all made their way back to the classroom, every one chirping about the winning team and how cool it was to watch the last few fights.

“Way to go you guys!” Naruto beamed as they got back to their seats, excitement nearly bubbling over.  His teammates were not the only ones that noticed that he was no longer breathing hard.  “Sasuke you kicked Shikamaru’s ass – er, butt I mean,” he corrected at Hinata’s wide eyes.  He offered a bashful laugh before continuing.  “And Hinata your taijutsu was so cool!  Is that your family’s fighting style?”  A subdued nod preceded a quiet statement, accompanied by the seemingly ever-present index fingers.

“Ano . . . I only had one match Naruto-kun.  You and Sasuke-san did all the work . . .”

“I barely did anything,” Sasuke admitted begrudgingly, smirking at Naruto.  “You’re the one who fought the rest of the class; how many matches was it?  Eight?  Ten?  Iruka-sensei was right; you don’t ever get tired do you?”  Hinata nodded vigorously.

“Eh it wasn’t that bad,” he said proudly, catching Iruka’s stern look before making a face and lowering his voice.  “I mean, I got to go against all of the ones who didn’t do their winter homework I’m sure.  I bet if I’d fought Kiba, Shikamaru, or Choji early on you guys woulda done a lot more matches.”  Sasuke shrugged, and Hinata looked inexplicably worried.  It was true, to a degree.

“Alright, that’s it for today.  Be sure to start practicing your transformation jutsu at home; it’s one of the three important jutsus you need to know before you can graduate.”  Naruto made a face; he never had much luck with jutsus, and had made little to no progress on the Kage Bunshin technique despite almost daily practice.

“Hinata-san, do you want to train a little after class?  I want to spar a bit more since we didn’t get much chance with today’s competition.”  Sasuke had turned to Hinata to pose the question as the class began to leave, leaving a blinking Naruto between them.  The received response was an odd, wide-eyed wonder from the Hyuga, though a quick nod afforded her confirmation.  Naruto smiled and waved to the two of them, moving along before a hesitant voice stopped him.

“N-Naruto-kun . . . Do you want to come with us?” Hinata asked nervously, eyes cast anywhere but at him.  “I-If you’re too tired it’s okay . . .” She turned scarlet as she finally caught sight of the blond, who was grinning from ear to ear.

“Yeah!  I just need to tell Iruka-sensei; I’ll meet you guys in the yard in five minutes!”  He could barely contain himself as he bounded down the stairs between desks, all but exclaiming to their teacher his plans for the afternoon.  Of course, the chunin had no qualms, so long as he was back for their evening meal.  Moments later Naruto sped out the door, slowing to a ‘casual’ walk with a bit too much bounce in his step upon leaving the building.

Iruka leaned against his desk at the front of the class, head shaking and smiling sadly.  A lot had happened in one day, it seemed, and not all of it good even if the children all seemed happy.  The intended three had indeed formed the beginnings of a friendship, he felt, and Naruto could not have been happier.  Sasuke seemed to have reevaluated the boy too, and also learned a valuable lesson on humility.  Hinata, though, despite her team’s confidence and insistence that she fought well seemed as down on herself as always, as if nothing she did was good enough.  For whom it was inadequate was a mystery, though Iruka had a few guesses.  It was no secret that her father Hiashi was an icy, intimidating, perfectionist of a man, and her mother had died years prior.  The girl was riddled with the signs of anxiety, lack of confidence, and self-deprecation.  _Well, I can hope her new friends will help in ways I can’t.  I’ll have to wait and see._

When Naruto returned that evening for dinner he was bubbling over, talking almost non-stop about how the extracurricular sparring had gone.  By his account Sasuke was better than he was in all categories, and Hinata was a lot faster at least, but rather than becoming disheartened these facts seemed to encourage him to train even harder.  His incredible stamina did not even seem to come to mind as a great advantage he had over the other two; somewhere in the last seven months Naruto had learned the all-important ability to be humble.  Iruka wondered wryly where he could have gotten that from, stopping himself from seething about the boy’s lack of proper upbringing.  _All it took was something small, and he’s come so far in such a short time._

“We’re gonna train every day after classes, and even on off-days!” Naruto exclaimed, flushing slightly at Iruka’s chiding for being too loud indoors before continuing.  “Sorry sensei.  But Sasuke showed me this cool fire jutsu, and Hinata can already do a perfect transformation!  Can we work more on my chakra stuff and ninjutsu?”  Iruka blinked, but grinned.  It seemed they were already inspiring one another.

“Of course we can, Naruto.  You want to set a goal for yourself?”  His student stopped mid bite and furrowed his brows in the usual manner, denoting he did not quite understand.  “Naruto, your biggest goal is to be Hokage one day, right?”  He waited for a nod before continuing.  “Well, it’s important to set little goals along the way that will help you get there.  For example, you have to be a jonin to be Hokage, but before that you have to be a chunin – my rank – and even before that you have to make genin.  So your first smaller goal should be to be a genin, right?”  Naruto nodded slowly this time, connecting the dots in his head.  “In order to become a genin, you have to master a few simple ninjutsus, have adequate ability with taijutsu, and be able to handle your ninja tools well.  So when I asked if you wanted to set a goal, I mean a goal that will help you towards one of those smaller things, because eventually your goals will build up until you reach your big goal.”  With all the pieces put in place, a final excited nod indicated that he had understood everything up to that point.  “So I think we should work really hard and see if you can get your Kage Bunshin technique by the end of the year.  How does that sound?”

“A whole _year_?  Iruka-sensei, do you really think it will take that long?”  Relatively speaking, a year of Naruto’s life was a significantly larger portion of his entire existence than it was for Iruka, so the skepticism was understood.  The youth likely neglected to consider how difficult the jutsu actually was to master.

“Yes, a _whole_ year.  Remember when I told you that you have a lot more chakra than most people?”  Naruto nodded, recalling also that Iruka had said not to mention it to anybody.  “Well, it’s making it harder for you to focus on your ninjutsu because there’s so much.  So it might take longer for you to get used to some things.  Does that make sense?”  The blond sure liked nodding.  “Great, so let’s aim for December alright?  See if you can learn it before Hinata-chan’s birthday!”  Naruto made a face and asked a question about why exactly Iruka had added the suffix ‘chan’ to his classmate’s name.  The older male was reminded daily how, while Naruto had picked up most of his language habits and meanings from the orphanage, some things had gone uncovered.  The remainder of the meal was encompassed by a pseudo-lecture about honorifics, when to use them, and how to use them.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

A month had passed since that day, and sure enough the trio trained almost daily, further honing their taijutsu skills and occasionally finding time for chakra exercises.  Naruto had advanced alarmingly fast in his taijutsu, to the point that Sasuke was now struggling to keep up and he was helping his friends with their footwork and technique.  Of course even just sparring with Naruto over an extended period of time increased their endurance as well.  Hinata helped both of them with their chakra control and its practical applications, to the best of her abilities, while Sasuke tried to impart some knowledge of the jutsus his brother had taught him.  All in all, the experience helped all of them improve noticeably.  Trouble came, however, as trouble always tends to.

Two months before the end of the spring semester, Hinata arrived home after a productive day at the academy.  The Hyuga estate was vast and lavish, as the family was one of the wealthiest in the village, but the gardens could not hold the girl’s attention for the time being.  Her father had sent for her.  The only thing going through her mind right then was a mental checklist, making sure she was presentable and had a stutter-free explanation of the day’s events ready in case he asked.  Not because he cared if she enjoyed it or not – such things were unimportant, after all – but to ensure that her instruction was going well.

Hinata had been a disappointment to her father, a fact that she was reminded of almost daily at her home.  If not by her father, then by her elder cousin Neji, or even her younger sister Hanabi who showed much more promise.  The elder daughter of Hiashi was on the verge of being disowned, or perhaps she had already been proverbially cast out.  It was hard to tell some days.  All Hinata knew was that she needed to work harder and earn her father’s praise.  It was her fault for being a failure, so she had to take responsibility and fix it.

The audience chamber was dimly lit and quiet.  Too quiet, as usual.  Hyuga Hiashi sat on a slightly raised dais, considering his eldest offspring coldly.  No hint of paternal warmth emanated from the leader of the clan.  “I understand that you are engaging in extra training after hours at the academy,” he stated rhetorically, watching his daughter for any hint of a reaction.  Nothing yet.  “I have been told you are training with an Uchiha; I approve of this choice and recommend you continue.  Their clan is strong, and with his help you may yet salvage your worth.”  A pitiful, hopeful expression appeared on Hinata’s face before it was erased by a hard look.  “However, I also understand that the Uzumaki child is also taking part in this training.  I thought I had  . . . Cautioned you about him.  He is dangerous filth, and I have told you more than once to maintain distance from him.  But you have gone against my wishes and now willingly consort with him.”  Hinata’s mouth opened and closed once, causing Hiashi to raise an inquisitive eyebrow.  Had she actually been about to defend her actions?  “You are not to spend any more time with Uzumaki Naruto.  Do you understand?”  A long moment passed with a barely noticeable shimmering of the girl’s eyes, the only animation to an otherwise stoic face.  “I will ask only once more, Hinata.  Do.  You.  Understand?”  His words cut like no blade could, finally eliciting a tight nod from her before she was dismissed unceremoniously.

Hinata was used to tears; many evenings had been spent curled up in her room, crying for reasons beyond her own understanding.  But she knew why this time.  She knew that her father had demanded she give up one of the only friends she had ever made, a boy that inspired her and whom she could gain confidence from, even if only once in a while.

But why?  Why did the adults hate Naruto so much?  Why did even her peers whisper things about him like the older villagers?  She had asked only two people in her life.  One was her father, who had merely berated her for asking such a foolish question.  The other was one of her retainers, who kindly suggested that he was not allowed to tell.  That was what bothered the young Hyuga more than anything else.  They were not ‘allowed’ to, but that meant it must be a secret.  What kind of secret could it be that was worth trying to put down such a courageous boy?  Silent sobs carried her to sleep as the puzzle refused to solve itself in her mind.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“Naruto, why hasn’t Hinata been training with you and Sasuke?” Iruka asked on night when Naruto came home and began explaining what he and Sasuke had been working on.  “All I’ve heard mention of this last month was training with Sasuke, and every time I ask about Hinata you just say she’s busy.  What happened, Naruto?”

“I don’t know sensei,” he answered honestly with a shrug, though his expression denoted he was bothered by it.  “She doesn’t talk much in class anymore either – not that she used to much . . . Or that we talk in class.  But . . . One day she just said her dad wants her to train with him after school instead.  I mean that seems pretty neat; her Jyuken is really cool.”  The mixed emotion in his statements was more than obvious.  On one hand he wanted his friend back, but on the other he could not be mad that she was spending time with her dad training.

“You said she . . . Isn’t talking as much in class?”  Iruka had put his chopsticks down, hands folding beneath his chin.  Naruto nodded guiltily, thinking he was mad about them carrying on conversations in class.  “I see, well, I’m sure she’ll be back with you and Sasuke soon.”  Naruto looked curious but nodded, unconvinced.

The next day, after class, Iruka called Sasuke and Hinata to his desk before they were able to leave the classroom.  “Can you wait in the courtyard, Naruto?  See if you can do two-hundred pushups before Sasuke gets there.”  The challenge was taken to with gusto, the blond racing from the room to begin immediately.  A fond smile lingered on Iruka’s lips for a moment before he turned to the pair in front of him, one looking curious while the other fidgeted nervously, staring at the floor.  “What have your parents told you about Uzumaki Naruto?”  Hinata’s face shot up in alarm, all but confirming the chunin’s suspicions, though it was Sasuke who offered an explanation first.

“My dad said to avoid him,” he answered with an uncomfortable shrug.  “He won’t say why, but he said that Naruto is dangerous.  Itachi said not to worry about it though, so I didn’t listen.  I haven’t seen anything wrong with Naruto, and he’s fun to train with.”  Iruka’s nod, more appreciative than the child knew, brought about another shrug from Sasuke.

“My father has not said anything about Naruto-kun, Iruka-sensei,” she mumbled at the ground, fingers grasping the hem of her shirt tight enough to make her fingers white.  Hinata was exceptional at telling white lies with a straight face in most situations, but when caught in the open like this it was impossible to keep the emotion out.

“Thank you, Sasuke.  You can go meet up with Naruto now.”  With a nod and glance to his friend, the Uchiha boy left silently.  Iruka considered Hinata for a few long seconds, carefully choosing his phrasing.  “Hinata, you don’t have to tell me, but I think it’s safe to assume that your father has told you something similar.”  Her grip tightened.  “There’s not much I can do for you; I know, like Sasuke, you don’t want to have to be separated from your friends.”  The slightest of nods told him that she acknowledged that much.  “I also don’t know what it’s like for you at home, and unfortunately it’s not my place to ask.  However,” he paused, finally seeing her slightly teary eyes raised to his.  “I can assure you that Naruto is not dangerous.  He is a kind, determined boy that doesn’t deserve what Konoha has forced on him.  Understand?”  Hinata nodded with more fierceness than he knew she possessed.  “Alright,” he said quietly, smiling sadly at her, “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”  She bowed and left in a hurry.  Only after a full minute of watching the empty doorway did Iruka notice the tiny drops of blood dripping from his fingers.  He had apparently been holding his wrist very firmly behind his back.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“What is it you wanted to speak about, Umino Iruka?”  Hiashi seated himself across from the instructor, not bothering to keep the distaste out of his voice.  “My daughter’s performance has been above average, I assume?”

“Yes, Hiashi-sama,” Iruka began carefully, trying to put the powerful man at ease.  “Hinata’s grades are the best of her class, as one should expect of a member of the Hyuga family.”  This earned him a hard look from Hiashi, followed closely by a curt nod.  “However, her grades are not why I asked you here.  I have noticed that she has become more . . . Withdrawn in the last month or so, more so than usual.  Early this semester she seemed to get along well with Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto, but lately seems to have abandoned their friendship, so to speak.”  As expected, Hiashi showed little reaction beyond a twitch of his eyebrow at the mention of the village pariah.

“I told my daughter to stay away from the boy.  The Uchiha clan does not remember what happened nearly eight years ago, it seems.  A pity; I encouraged Hinata to train with Sasuke, but his association with the demon has prevented that.”  It took all of Iruka’s self-control to maintain a straight face and not grind his teeth.

“I see.  Well, Hiashi-sama, I think that is regrettable.  Naruto was helping your daughter with her stamina and chakra capacity, in addition to simply serving as a sparring partner for her to practice Jyuken.  And, ah, I must respectfully disagree with your assertion that Naruto is a demon.”  He finished the last portion in a rush, doing his best to keep every shred of anger from his tone.

“Iruka- _sensei_ ,” Hiashi began frostily, blank eyes seeming to stare into the instructor’s soul.  “Have you also forgotten the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the incarnation of evil itself that ravaged this village?  Have you forgotten the thousands that died at its claws, including your own parents?”  Iruka was proud of himself for not even flinching at the topic he had seen coming.  “Uzumaki Naruto possesses that very demon and should have been killed the same night it was sealed inside of him.”

“No,” Iruka began, unable to keep a semblance of fury from his voice.  “No, Hiashi- _sama_ , Naruto is not the Kyuubi.  The Yondaime sacrificed his life to seal that damned fox inside of him; Naruto never once had a choice in the matter.  Even so, he does not _possess_ the demon as you imply.  He keeps it imprisoned, and as far as I am concerned he will until the day he dies.  The Kyuubi does not define who the boy is; he does, through his words and actions.  And I can tell you from experience that Uzumaki Naruto is one of the kindest, most selfless children I know, and despite dealing with the whole village’s spite his entire life he is still determined to protect them.  Does that sound like a monster to you, Hiashi-sama?”

Silence.  Iruka was unsure whether Hiashi was in shock at being rebuked, or if he was merely considering the words of the considerably younger chunin.  _Likely the prior._   It was a sobering thought, considering that the Hyuga clan head had significant sway over the village, to the point he could probably get Iruka removed from his post.  An eternity seemed to pass before Hiashi stood without saying a word, approaching the door to the small office.  He turned at the threshold, looking back towards what he considered to be an impudent teacher.  “Let us hope you are right, for all our sakes.”  With that he was gone, and Iruka was left to sag heavily in his seat.  Hiashi’s killer intent had been more than palpable; it had radiated violently throughout the room and likely several meters past.  It had left the chunin drained and shaking slightly, but he had gotten his point across.  He could hope, at least.

The next day at academy, Iruka was struck speechless, stiffening as Hinata entered the room.  He hoped against hope that nobody could sense the unbridled fury building up inside, although it seemed a few nearby students sensed the unbelievably rare pressure of his killer intent.  A slew of unreasonable, borderline insane thoughts rushed through his mind.  _I will kill Hyuga Hiashi.  When the Hokage hears about this he’ll_ . . .

Hinata was slouched, which in and of itself was unsettling considering her normal poise.  Although her face was downcast as per usual, Iruka had made out bruises along her neck and cheeks.  From the way she was moving it could be assumed the injuries were more extensive than that.  “Hinata,” he stated tightly, though quietly.  The girl winced and turned to him wearily.  “Come with me please.”  She looked apprehensive, but far too sullen to put up any fight.  It was an exercise in temperance to say nothing of her condition; he had seen her come in with bruises before and even asked about them once.  He had been assured that they were the result of rigorous training with her father.  _I’m sure they were.  I’m damn sure._

A trip to the resident nurse did not take long.  Although they covered most of her small body, the bruises and sores were minor enough to be treated with rudimentary healing techniques in short order.  The very worst part was that neither Iruka nor the kindly woman treating Hinata could pry about the wounds.  It was clan business, and as such was outside of even the Hokage’s rule.  It was physical abuse, plain and simple, disguised as training.  The girl said nothing throughout the ordeal.

When they returned to class – a few minutes past the scheduled start time – Hinata still looked tired, but at least stood straighter and was no longer in physical pain.  The psychological pain . . . Iruka could only shake his head as he watched her walk up to her seat.  _That sort of pain doesn’t heal the same._

The Hyuga girl seemed a bit different that day.  Despite the obvious mistreatment the night prior, she appeared to smile more, talk more with Naruto and Sasuke, and slowly seem like her old self.  It was not until Naruto burst into the kitchen that evening, breathless, that Iruka discovered the reason.

“Hinata’s back!  You were right sensei!”  It made sense in the most painful way.  Hiashi had likely gone home that night after speaking to Iruka and taken out his frustration on his daughter.  But, at the same time, what the chunin had said could not be refuted by a logical mind.  Naruto had undoubtedly been helping his daughter in her training, and even he would have to concede that assuming the boy to be equivalent to his prisoner was absurd.  Iruka ground his teeth again, tears springing to his eyes unbidden as he pulled Naruto into a spontaneous embrace.

“Good . . . Naruto?” he asked breathily, trying not to sound as emotional as he felt.  There was an indistinguishable sound that noted he was being listened to.  “Take care of your friends, especially Hinata.  Good friends are hard to come by, and you should treasure them.”

“I will, Iruka-sensei,” Naruto responded, sounding confused but sincere.  Naruto understood a lot about pain and loneliness, Iruka knew.  In the future when he better understood his friend’s situation, he would need that experience to be there for her.

_Damn it, somebody needs to be._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all.
> 
> First a thank you to my beta, Rhi; you’re the best.
> 
> Thanks everybody for the favorites, follows, and reviews. I know as fellow writers, or at least fellow literature junkies, you know how much even a single word of praise means for an author. But it’s not just praise I’m looking for; constructive criticism is appreciated equally, if not more. I would truly appreciate some comments if you have the time to spare; I’m just possessed with the writing bug at the moment, and as such I might miss some really important details that you noticed. Additionally, you can let me know which parts you liked so that I can try to keep it up!
> 
> Just a few notes before they come up:
> 
> The point at which the story changes from the original canon is well before the anime airs, as in the show most of the main cast start off around age 12 in their last year of the academy. The only source I could find on the topic indicated that students began their education around age 6-7 and finish around 11-12. I wanted to introduce Naruto’s motivation to change early on so that it might have a greater effect on his personality later. Call me a hater if you want, but I never liked his attitude in the anime even if I understood why he was like that. It just bothered me. I wanted to be able to keep many of his core values but have his personality develop differently under the eye of a mentor that cared about him from his earlier life.
> 
> Sasuke’s behavior is also different because, at this point, he is seven (birthday July 23 I think). The sources I could find suggested Itachi’s betrayal occurred when Sasuke was seven or eight, and the portrayals of him before that were always of a (fairly) normal child. My own personality additions were based on his heritage and likely being told all of his life that he should be proud to be an Uchiha, and something something ‘better than everybody’ etc. And so, all that considered, I didn’t see a reason that he and Naruto couldn’t start out as friends.
> 
> Short unrelated note: When I mention girls fawning over boys or presumed ‘interests’, they’re just kids. Boys and girls get crushes at that age, and it’s meant as a foreshadow for what could develop in the future, certainly not for near the present.
> 
> Lastly, honorifics. You might have noticed that I neglected to use some on occasions, or used different ones in different situations, etc. Part of this is revealed in the piece itself: Naruto, at least, and some other children even might not be fluent in their understanding of the suffixes, and thus use them incorrectly or even not at all. I also spoke to an acquaintance of mine, who is also a Japanese native, on the subject, and gained a bit more insight than Wikipedia could offer me. There are apparently times it’s okay to use them, times it’s okay not to, times one is preferred over the other, etc. Basically it’s complicated, and I’d just say that I am doing my best with them. Try not to get too tied up over it. <3
> 
> Thanks again for reading, and I’m sure you’ll be seeing more of me soon.


	3. Tragedy Strikes

Iruka stretched and leaned back in his chair, eyes half lidded as he watched his three students spar in the summer heat.  It had been a month already since the end of the spring semester, but Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke still spent most days together.  Most of the time they trained, but occasionally they simply played games or chatted on walks.  Ever since Hinata had returned to the group they seemed more determined than ever to improve, as if her presence had revitalized their efforts.  Despite the heat, they showed little to no lack of focus.

Naruto and Hinata were sparring at the moment, allowing Sasuke a breather on a nearby bench.  Both boys had long since removed their shirts – an action met with furious blushing by their female companion – and were covered in sweat.  Her clothes clung to her as well, and she lost her focus to a giggle thinking about what it would be like to be a boy.  Iruka, unseen by the group, raised an eyebrow.  Hinata had _laughed_.  Naruto took the opening presented and scored a point through her block, though his control had improved enough so that the blow was little more than a tap.

“Yeah!  First point I’ve scored on you today,” Naruto laughed as he settled back into his stance.  Hinata’s Jyuken had not only improved in the last few months, but she had also taken to modifying the style on her own.  While the Hyuga taijutsu largely focused on rapid palm strikes, Hinata had begun incorporating more kicks and advanced footwork into the style as a result of the boys’ sparring.  The result, for the time being, had proven her temporarily superior to her sparring partners until they were able to figure out effective counters.

Hinata nodded excitedly, glad for her friend’s progress.  She was far too nice to ruin his accomplishment by admitting she had lost focus.  About ten minutes later found her sufficiently tired.  Naruto had managed to score two more points since his first, though he had taken a significant amount more than she.  Seeing Sasuke looking a bit down on energy still, Naruto straightened and stretched.  “You guys want to go to Ichiraku for lunch?  Iruka-sensei took me there last week and their ramen is great!”  Sasuke and Hinata agreed readily, both tired and needing a lengthy break anyway.  Naruto prattled on about the different types of ramen he was planning to get as they moved away, leaving a grinning Iruka watching after them.

Naruto had taken his mentor’s words seriously.  Whenever his friends were tired he would find an excuse to rest, whether it be for lunch or just lying in the grass for a while.  Iruka was sure that Sasuke and Hinata knew he was just being nice; it was hard to miss how Naruto always seemed full of energy, or how his heart rate returned to normal after only a moment’s rest.  But the blond boy just wanted to make sure his friends were alright, so he did not mind the necessary breaks – he did love ramen, after all.

Unfortunately he still had yet to make progress on his Kage Bunshin technique.  No matter how much Hinata worked with him or how often he practiced, Naruto could only form that small discolored, unstable blob.  It was getting to the point that he was even getting frustrated with himself.  In all things Naruto refused to give up, trying and trying until he got it.  But now he had encountered an obstacle that seemed impassable.  Or at least it _seemed_ that way, until the day Iruka decided to come join them for some chakra control exercises.

All three were sitting cross-legged side by side, hands held in the ram seal and focusing.  Iruka strode across the field they had been training in, sitting across from them with a proud smile.  None of them moved, not even to check who had approached.  Iruka blinked.  Their focus was impressive.  Several minutes later Naruto finally opened his eyes and sighed in exasperation, falling back into the grass.  This prompted Hinata and Sasuke to blink their eyes open, though they appeared not to mind that they had been interrupted.

“Don’t worry Naruto; you’ll get it one of these days,” Sasuke assured, leaning back on his hands.  Hinata nodded encouragingly.  It seemed that, in the same way that Naruto encouraged them in their sparring and took care to give them plenty of rest, the other two encouraged him in the areas he was less adept.  It worked better than Iruka could have hoped.

“Your friends are right, Naruto,” Iruka confirmed, watching the three closely.  “I think I may have thought of a way to help you a little.  Hinata, you are able to use your Byakugan, yes?”  The girl blushed but nodded, eyes traveling to the ground as if it was something to be embarrassed about.  “Excellent.  Can you sit right across from Naruto, please?”  Iruka had been working on a theory for the last month or so, but without a Sharingan or Byakugan he could not confirm it.  Naruto sat up and looked at his teacher dubiously, but shrugged and took up his cross-legged position, Hinata bashfully taking up a position in front of him.  “Hinata,” he whispered as low as he could manage as Naruto began to focus, making sure only she was privy to his words.  “When you look at Naruto with your Byakugan, you might-”

“I-I know sensei,” she breathed, and to his relief she did not seem put off.  “I looked a few times, to see if I could tell why.”  Iruka blinked, but nodded.

“Alright then,” he said a little louder so that Naruto and Sasuke could hear as well.  “I want you to use your Byakugan and watch Naruto as he tries to use his jutsu, alright?”  The girl nodded and muttered ‘Byakugan’ to activate her bloodline.  The veins surround both eyes bulged, her blank white, pupil-less eyes also acquiring minute black lines that outlined what might be considered a pupil.  “Naruto, try the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.”

“Yes sensei,” he sighed, crossing his fingers and concentrating.  “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.”  A puff of smoke appeared beside him, revealing again the unrecognizable mound that disappeared quickly thereafter.  “Ahg, sensei I can’t do it!”  Iruka put up his hand, turning to Hinata.

“Hinata, what did you see?”

“Not much, sensei,” she admitted dismally, sound for all the world like she believed it was her fault.  “He just has so much chakra I can hardly tell if any of it moves . . . The only thing I saw was a little bit of  . . . Red chakra, I-I think.”  She silently berated herself for stuttering after making almost all the way through without.

Iruka had been expecting the first answer, but was taken aback by the addition.  “Red chakra?  Are you sure?”  Hinata nodded, looking frightened like she had gotten in trouble.  Iruka shook his head; he would have to talk to the Sandaime about this.  However, her insight had confirmed his suspicions.  Now he just had to hope that he was correct.  “Alright, Naruto.  I assume you’re only trying to create one clone, right?”  Naruto nodded; why would he try to create more?  “Try to create more than one.  Let’s say . . . Try to make three and see what happens.”  His protégé looked perplexed but complied nonetheless, closing his eyes and forming the seal.

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.”  It took a second longer than before, but sure enough three puffs of smoke appeared around the boy and . . .

“Well, that’s certainly an improvement.  I think,” Sasuke offered dubiously, looking at the three ‘clones’ and trying to figure out if his friend had succeeded or not.  The bunshin were recognizable now, but looked incredibly thin and pale, wilting to the ground quickly before vanishing in simultaneous puffs of smoke.

“Alright Naruto, I think I know what you need to work on now,” Iruka said happily, unable to keep the grin from his face.  Meanwhile the blond was rubbing the back of his head, a mixture of pride and embarrassment evident.  “I want you to spend more time working on chakra control, but more specifically molding the _smallest_ amount of chakra you can, alright?”

“But sensei, why would I want to use so little?”  Iruka hesitated, glancing at Hinata and Sasuke, who were both looking up at him.  _Well, they already know about his massive chakra.  May as well act like it’s not a secret._

“For some reason you have way too much chakra, Naruto.  I’m sure Hinata has said something about your enlarged chakra coils?”  She and Naruto nodded, though it was apparent that the blond had no idea what that meant.  “Basically it means you can hold more chakra than most people.  But because you have so much, it’s harder to pull out little bits to do normal jutsus.  If you practice molding small amounts of chakra, it will help your control for all jutsus.  Understand?”  Naruto nodded again in a way that said he understood most of it at least.  “Good.  I have to go to a meeting now, so I’ll leave you three to practice.”  With that Iruka waved and left, hoping his insight proved useful.

As they got back to their exercises Hinata was distracted.  She had seen Naruto’s vast chakra reserves before and at first it had been shocking, but soon it was something she just accepted as part of him.  The red chakra, however, had never been apparent until that day.  As a matter of fact, it seemed to spark even more when Naruto created the three bunshin.  The Hyuga had not used her eyes too much outside of her own compound, but never had she seen chakra that was not blue even in the strongest ninja like her father.  _Maybe it has something to do with the secret . . ._ she pondered before refocusing her attention on molding chakra.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

“What can I do for you, Iruka?”  The Sandaime sat back in his office chair, looking a bit older than usual.  He smoked his favorite pipe steadily and wore a kindly expression.  If Iruka had not known better and the Hokage had not been wearing the hat indicating his office, the old man might appear to be a simple grandfatherly figure.  As everybody knew, this was not the case.

“Hokage-sama,” Iruka began reverently with a bow, remaining standing as a sign of respect.  “I came to ask about a certain . . . Discovery concerning Uzumaki Naruto.”  He tensed for a moment, but relaxed again upon seeing the Sandaime’s smile.

“Ah, Naruto.  I never got the chance to personally thank you for taking the boy in.  I can see the difference it has made.  The Yondaime would be overjoyed to know that the boy had been accepted, even if by one person.”  The old man’s smile faltered at the final mention, continuing after a thoughtful pause.  “What is this discovery?”

“Sir, Naruto has befriended Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Hinata.  They’ve become training partners and are helping one another hone their skills.  They get along really well and . . .” He coughed and ducked his head, realizing he had gotten carried away.  Hiruzen’s smile indicated that he did not mind the information, although his expression darkened as Iruka continued.  “Hinata was using her Byakugan to monitor Naruto’s chakra as he attempted the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.”  A raised eyebrow prompted a brief explanation as to why the seven-year-old was attempting such an advanced technique before he was able to continue.  “She told me that there was red chakra present inside of Naruto,” he finished in a breath, unable to keep the concern from edging into his tone.  “I was hoping that you might have some insight as to what it might be.”

“I think you know as well as I what the likely cause is, Iruka,” the Hokage sighed, massaging his temples and looking even older.  “Chakra in humans is blue.  It is always blue, except in unnatural phenomena.  As you are well aware, the Kyuubi no Kitsune is an  . . . Unnatural phenomenon.”  They sat in silence for a moment.  Iruka had expected but hoped against the coming postulation, but it came nonetheless.  “The Fourth invented the seal on Naruto himself.  The Eight Trigrams Seal is made to weaken, or ‘loosen’ over time if you will to allow the Kyuubi’s chakra to leak out.  If it did not, it would eventually kill the boy.”  Noticing Iruka’s mouth agape, the Sandaime smiled sadly.  “Don’t worry, Iruka.  He is in no danger of causing himself or anybody else harm.  The Kyuubi’s chakra is volatile though; it will make it much harder for Naruto to perform most jutsus as he gets older.”

“The fox’s presence within Naruto had already increased his chakra levels to a high chunin level, and with all of the additional training he has been doing I would wager it has reached jonin level now.  Hinata says his coils look like Kakashi’s.”  This news caught the Hokage off guard and he caught himself staring.  He had known the approximate effects of having the nine-tails sealed within the child, but he had not expected those results.  “I doubt he will be able to utilize such stores,” Iruka continued, scratching and shaking his head in bewilderment.  “At least the Kyuubi’s presence has helped in some areas.  Naruto recovers from injuries incredibly fast and has incredible stamina.  I’ve seen him spar for two hours straight, and by the end he had no bruises or scrapes, and he recovered in minutes.  I’ve never seen anything like it.”  Another sad smile from the Sandaime stopped him from going further.

“Let us hope the effects remain positive.  I have faith in Naruto, and I know you do as well.”  Iruka turned a bit red but nodded.  After an unrelated discussion concerning the academy, he was dismissed.  For a time Hiruzen stared out the window of his office in the Hokage building, thin tendrils of smoke rising from his long pipe.  “Let us hope, and have faith.”

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

Before they knew it classes had begun again.  A few months passed uneventfully, though Naruto’s marks in all subjects had improved dramatically.  Sasuke and Hinata still had the best scores in the class, but after a long summer of training Naruto was catching up quickly.  All three were unmatched in their taijutsu, though there were a few students that showed great promise.  Kiba appeared to have been training as well, and even Sakura seemed to have done more work than expected on her taijutsu.  Shikamaru had developed what Iruka called a ‘lazy style’ of sparring, but it was surprisingly effective and kept his opponents guessing.  What Shino lacked in power he made up for in speed and reach.  Choji continued to be a timid boy, though if anybody mentioned his taboo he might be considered an unstoppable force.  Ino seemed entirely unconcerned with taijutsu, preferring fawning over Sasuke when she was not working on her chakra control and ninjutsu.  Iruka could not complain about that too much; it was important to stick with your strengths, so long as you had the basics down in all areas.

Rankings seemed to change every week among the three friends.  More often than not Sasuke came out on top; he had no chance of outlasting Naruto in a long match, so he had to either knock his friend down or score his points fast.  When he failed to do either, Naruto claimed the top spot in their sparring for the day.  Hinata was not far behind either, and even managed to win once or twice a week.  Instead of pride in that accomplishment, however, she chastised herself for not doing better while simultaneously silently cheering the two boys on.  Iruka noted that she did seem marginally less shy, but the ground still occupied most of her attention and her nervous habits had not disappeared.

Shortly after Naruto’s eighth birthday, in mid-October, everything changed.  The news came to Iruka in the middle of the night via an ANBU agent knocking on his door.  Naruto lay asleep, tired from a long day.  “Meet at the academy, room 201-A.  Leave Naruto here.”  With that brief message he was gone, vanishing like a wraith in the night.  Iruka squinted at the moon worriedly, wondering if the reddish tint was just his imagination.  He glanced back into his apartment before closing the door and leaping off the balcony towards the academy.

Room 201-A was an auditorium usually used for presentations.  Now was no exception, as most of the instructors and many jonin and ANBU sat or stood around worriedly.  Every one of them knew this was an emergency situation, but nobody yet knew why.  Slowly, a shrouded figure made his way to the dimly lit podium, a trail of white smoke drifting behind him.  The Hokage’s voice was hard and wracked with anguish, sadness, and rage all in one.  His killer intent filled the room and sent shivers through even some of the ANBU.  This was serious.

“Konohagakure Shinobi,” he began formally, keeping the shaking from his voice.  “A few hours ago one of our ANBU agents entered the Uchiha compound to investigate a report of suspicious activity.  Upon arrival, it was discovered that the entire Uchiha clan has been . . . Slaughtered.”  The collective gasps almost outnumbered the disbelieving stares.  Nobody could have managed such a thing; the Uchiha were a strong clan, many of their members possessing the Sharingan.  There was but one group that _might_ have been able to manage it, and even then . . . “The culprit,” the Sandaime continued, gripping the edge of the podium with such ferocity that the wood splintered around his fingers, “Is Uchiha Itachi.”

Iruka’s mind had gone blank at the announcement.  The tragedy was horrific in and of itself, but Sasuke . . . One of Naruto’s close friends.  When Itachi’s name fell there were cries of outrage from the gathered audience, but Iruka could only stare, unable to come to terms with what he was hearing.  This was not possible.  It was not happening.  It could not be.

“There was only one survivor, one we assumed was left out of pity or attachment.  Uchiha Sasuke has been placed in protective custody with Ibiki and will be interviewed as soon as he is awake.  Itachi is being placed in Konoha’s Bingo Book as an S-Rank missing-nin as we speak.  He is not to be trusted, and any and all information concerning him is to be surrendered to myself or Ibiki.  That is all.”  The Hokage turned sharply to slowly retreat into the shadows, tailed by several ANBU and his advisors.

_This is a nightmare.  It’s not happening.  I’m going to go to sleep, wake up, and everything will be as it was before.  God damn it it’s going to be the same._

It was not the same.  Iruka had not slept, unable to sink into slumber and instead boring a hole in the ceiling with his eyes.  Hours passed before he heard the telltale grunts from the living room indicating that Naruto was up and exercising already.  _Naruto . . ._ Iruka did not want to get up.  He wanted to lay there forever and sink into the earth.  But it was his duty as Naruto’s guardian to tell him.  He could only pray that the boy . . . _What, that he won’t take it poorly?  That he won’t die inside?  Yeah right._   The chunin steeled himself and got up, walking slowly to the living room and standing tiredly by his student.

“Good morning, Iruka-sensei,” Naruto said amiably between sit-ups, grinning ridiculously until he saw the expression on his teacher’s face.  Iruka looked hollow; empty, as if his soul had taken a vacation and forgotten to tell him.  He was pale with dark circles under his eyes, and the usual light behind his eyes was nowhere to be seen.  “Sensei . . . What’s wrong?”

“Sasuke . . .” His voice was hoarse, and he had to cough before continuing quietly, not able to look the child in his eyes.  “Sasuke’s clan was wiped out last night.  He was the only one who survived.”

Silence.

Naruto’s face contorted, and for a moment Iruka was unsure whether the boy was bursting with righteous fury or unable to contain the overwhelming sadness.  In the end it was both, as the blond ended up with his arms wrapped about his legs with his head buried by his knees, doing his best not to cry but with silent sobs wracking his small body.  His nails – which seemed more jagged than normal – had dug into his legs and pierced the skin, spawning a few trickles of blood.

Iruka fell to his knees and embraced the youth, only able to hold back his tears out of his duty as a comforter.  “Remember what I said about being there for your friends, Naruto?” he asked softly.  He felt the nod and heard a sharp sniff.  “Sasuke is going to be in pain for a long time.  As his best friend, I trust you’ll do everything you can to help him.”  Another nod was all Naruto could manage before he was crying outright.  Iruka already knew that no amount of comfort or understanding could mend the Uchiha’s wounds.  No matter the pain that Naruto has suffered his whole life, having one’s entire family taken from him in one night was a whole different brand of devastation.

All around Konoha that night and morning, parents hugged their children a little tighter than normal.  The situation was either explained delicately or overheard, and by the next morning the whole town knew of the scandal.  The students filed into class silently, the weight of what had happened not lost on their young minds.

As Naruto reached the top of the stairs leading to his row, Hinata all but sprinted into the room, bolting straight up the aisle and colliding with him hard.  It took a moment for anybody surrounding to notice what had happened, but as soon as they had their eyes averted, trying their best to hold back tears of their own.  Naruto had been knocked down with his back against the wall, Hinata’s tiny arms wrapped around his waist, her face buried in his chest.  Much later she might look back and feel ashamed for her actions, but not now.  Naruto’s face contorted again as he felt his friend’s hot tears seeping through his shirt, but he willed himself not to cry.  Instead he just leaned over the girl, putting one hand on her back and the other on her shoulder like he had seen some adults and older kids do to comfort people.

Iruka had watched silently as the Hyuga girl had entered and shot to Naruto for comfort.  His eyes averted as well; he knew it would be impossible to remain stoic if he watched.  Hiashi had likely informed his family of the occurrence in the manner fitting of one so cold: emotionlessly, and offering no comfort to the daughter for whom the news impacted so much.  Judging by the way Hinata had reacted, it was likely she had spent the early morning by herself.

“Class is cancelled today,” Iruka said flatly, standing slowly and looking over his class.  None of them looked like they would be able to focus on their studies today.  Hell, he would not be able to.  “I’ll see you all tomorrow.”  One by one they stood and exited the room silently, none of them wanting to be the first to mention why they were all upset.  As the last student left the room – Shino, looking straight faced as Iruka could tell behind his sunglasses and high collar – Iruka looked to the top row.  Hinata was still quavering but seemed to have loosened her grip on Naruto.  He was simply staring at his instructor with a pleading expression, eyes asking why such a thing had to happen.

“Let’s go Naruto.  Hinata, I want you to come with us too.”  She did not move, and Naruto looked down with no small amount of concern, before glancing back up and mouthing the word ‘sleeping’ with a questioning expression.  Iruka could only assume Hiashi had woken his family in the middle of the night to inform them, and following that the young girl had tired herself out by crying for hours.  “Can you carry her, Naruto?” he asked quietly.  “We’re going to the park.”

A few minutes later found Iruka and Naruto walking side by side towards the west side of the village, their shadows long in the rising sunlight.  Hinata’s diminutive form was draped across Naruto’s arms, her knees bent over his right forearm while his left supported her back.  Her head rested against his shoulder, tear-stained face still red from crying but otherwise peaceful.  Iruka looked down at the pair and couldn’t help but smile, an expression tainted by the sadness he felt for their friend and the many citizens who had lost their lives the night before.  Naruto would take care of his friends; Iruka did not need to remind him.

Before long they were sitting on a bench in the park, watching the sunrise.  Naruto had gently placed Hinata down on the bench, though only after Iruka chastised him did he gingerly place the girl’s head on his lap.  Despite the gravity of the situation, the blond still had the presence of mind to blush a little.  Of all the things he had missed out on, interaction with girls seemed to be the haziest situation for the boy.  From dealing with his peers he was now aware at least that sometimes you liked one another, but that was the extent of it.  Iruka had to admit that Naruto was a bit oblivious, but that was alright.  They were still a bit young to be thinking about such things.  Naruto was just being a good friend.

“Do they know who did it, sensei?” Naruto asked quietly after a while, the sun’s glare in his bright blue eyes.  He looked older all of a sudden, much older than the eight-year-old he was.  Iruka hesitated, but decided it was better he say it than the truth be overheard from gossip.

“Sasuke’s brother, Itachi.”  Naruto’s wide-eyed disbelief was merited.  Sasuke only ever spoke highly of his brother, and Iruka knew well the genius Itachi was.

“Itachi?  By himself?”  The child’s brain was trying to put together how that was even possible.  He knew well that there were shinobi that had were skilled enough to take on a lot of enemies by themselves, but the entire Uchiha clan?  Sasuke had told him vaguely how many people there were in the clan; they had their own miniature town basically.

“Itachi is considered a genius of the Uchiha clan, Naruto.  That’s why Sasuke looked up to him so much.  Itachi went to the academy and graduated in only a year, at the age of seven.  He became a chunin when he was ten, an ANBU agent at eleven, and was an ANBU captain at thirteen.”  Naruto’s bewildered expression increased in magnitude as the Uchiha’s accomplishments were listed.  Most students did not even graduate from the academy until they were eleven or twelve, but Sasuke’s brother had been in ANBU by then.  Only a genius could be admitted to the special forces at that age.  He began to understand how such a thing had been possible, especially by somebody who was trusted by his people.

“What happens now?” he asked dismally, wondering if his friend would ever be the same again.

“I don’t know, Naruto,” Iruka sighed, which elicited an incredulous look from his student.  “I don’t know everything, kiddo,” he chided gently, allowing himself to smirk.  “What I do know is that it will be hard.  When you see Sasuke again he might not be the same; he might never be the same.  I don’t know what he’ll do, either.  But you know what you need to do.”  It was not a question, but Naruto nodded nonetheless.  He would do what he could for Sasuke.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

Two weeks passed without Sasuke in the classroom.  No matter how many times Iruka asked after his whereabouts or how his student was, he received the same answer: ‘He’ll be back in class soon.’  Naruto and Hinata had put on brave faces, but there was little in the ways of laughter or even smiles those days.  Naruto did his best to try and cheer his friend up, but it was difficult for many reasons.  They hadn’t seen Sasuke in a while; they had no idea when he was getting back, or if he was going to come back.  Naruto’s normal light-hearted, positive attitude remained by force of will, but it was strained.

Then finally, one morning in early November, Sasuke walked into the classroom a few minutes late.  Or at least, Iruka thought it was Sasuke.  He no longer wore his black, long-sleeved shirt with the not-quite-Shino-level collar.  In its place was a similarly collared short-sleeve the color of cobalt, the Uchiha clan symbol sewn on the back.  His forearms and lower legs were covered by white warmers with blue straps.  At least the familiar white shorts completed the attire.  But it was not the clothing that made Sasuke look different.  It was his eyes.

Sasuke stalked to his usual seat without saying a word, not even to Naruto or Hinata as they sat speechless while he passed by to sit by the window.  The Uchiha survivor put his elbows on the table, wove his fingers together, and stared out the window.  Sasuke always had black eyes so dark that his pupil was not even visible, but those eyes held knowledge now, years of experience and hardship in only two weeks.  His face was devoid of emotion.  It was worse than Iruka had expected.  Naruto stared for a while before trying his hand at a broad grin.

“Sasuke!  It’s been-”

“Shut up.”  Naruto blinked.  Sasuke had not even twitched, only stated in a quiet, flat voice his desire for his friend not to speak.  The blond glanced at Hinata, who shook her head as if to say ‘let’s leave him alone for now’.  The rest of the class simply stared for a while before Iruka coughed and continued the lesson, trying to give his student time to acclimate.  The entire day passed without another word from him.

The only time Sasuke showed emotion throughout the next day was during taijutsu practice.  But the expressions were not indicative of who the boy used to be.  He was ruthless in his sparring, furious at every point scored against him, and sneering at every victory.  Hinata and Naruto were the only ones spared of his scorn, though they did experience his ferocity.  It felt like they had never even fought him before.  The Hyuga girl had only scored one point before Sasuke struck three in quick succession, not at all bothering to be soft.  One blow left a bruise on Hinata’s neck, the other two likely the same on her shoulder and torso.  He did not return her bow at the conclusion.

Naruto stepped up to silence, nobody daring to cheer one or the other on.  He was unsure what to do as he lowered himself into his stance, waiting.  “Sasuke, I-”  Without warning Sasuke leapt towards him, and he swore there had been a guttural growl preceding the onslaught.  It was everything he could do to keep on his feet and defend, taking two hits within a minute and struggling not to fall so easily.  Sasuke was smirking at him the whole time in a way that made the blond want to shudder.

 _“You and Hinata are the only ones that have a chance to get through to him.”_   Iruka’s words from the night before rang loudly in Naruto’s ears.

In a sudden surge of energy Naruto blocked a jab so hard it threw Sasuke off balance.  In an instant it was over, with the dark-haired youth flat on his back, expressionless as if nothing had happened.  Naruto stood over him, breathing hard.  He was _breathing hard._   Hinata approached timidly to stand next to him, looking extremely nervous.

“Sasuke,” Naruto started quietly, offering a hand to his fallen comrade.  “I know how hard you’ve had it recently, but please don’t take your anger out on us.  We’re your friends, all of us.”  Kiba looked a bit begrudging but nodded from his place in the circle.  Ino and Sakura both agreed emphatically, while Shino nodded silently with no change of expression.  Shikamaru shrugged and muttered something about being troublesome, while Choji continued munching on his signature bag of chips.  Hinata did her best to smile, but ended up flushing and looking embarrassed as usual.  Iruka watched silently, proud of his students for rallying around Sasuke.

“I don’t need friends,” he said loud enough for everyone in attendance to hear.  Hinata covered her mouth and took a step back, and Naruto clenched his fist.  Sasuke reached up and swatted his hand away, performing a quick kip-up before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking off.  Iruka bit his lip and shook his head.  Hinata and Naruto stood together, staring after their friend.  Sasuke did not return to classes that day.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

In Konoha, as in most hidden villages, children were considered adults upon graduation from the academy.  Generally speaking, that meant that every genin was mature enough to serve his or her village, and even die for it.  However, Iruka could see in several of his student’s eyes that adulthood had come early.  Reality seemed to have seeped in to many, the knowledge that any of them could be killed at any time forcing some to drop out.  By mid-December there were twenty-two left.  New students were brought in to take their places; it would be a waste to not fill the empty spaces.

Naruto had decided to give Sasuke space; he and Hinata could do little else since Sasuke refused to associate with anybody.  Instead they trained as a pair, spending longer hours than before together.  Both achieved landmark successes just before Hinata’s birthday on December 27.

Naruto finally managed to mold just enough chakra to summon a single Kage Bunshin successfully; he had managed to make two or three before that, but Iruka had insisted he have the capability to make just one.  He – and his clone – had been so excited they had high-fived hard enough to disperse the bunshin, sending Hinata into a fit of giggles.  He had to do it again to prove to Iruka he was able to.

Hinata’s success came in her chakra capacity and endurance, so it was a much more subtle change that Iruka had to point out to her.  The young Hyuga had trained with Naruto so long that her stamina had increased rapidly without her realizing it.  By late December she was able to spar at moderate intensity for almost an hour, and could go all out for a half an hour.  The first time Naruto actually became winded during a match Iruka happened to be watching, and the chunin nearly fell over laughing.  _Naruto_ had gotten worn down by the girl.  While it was hilarious to him, Hinata looked incredibly self-conscious and chagrined, but after quite a bit of encouragement and praise by Naruto she finally offered a small smile and blushed appreciatively.

Neither of them ever gave up on Sasuke, though.  Several times a week they would invite him to come spar after classes, and every time he either did not respond or refused flatly.  Against his better judgment, Naruto got frustrated one afternoon following their dismissal.  As usual, they were the last in the room aside from Iruka.

“Sasuke, I’m tired of this,” he said honestly with a sigh, slumping back into his seat while Hinata stared at the table pushing her index fingers together.  Sasuke did not react.  It was the middle of spring now, and they had not been together as a trio since before the Uchiha clan massacre.  Naruto understood, but at the same time he did not.  “I know how-”

“Don’t tell me you know how I feel, Naruto,” Sasuke practically hissed, gripping his own fingers tightly.  “You never had any parents.  You never had a family.  You don’t know what it’s like to lose _everyone_.”  Hinata choked a little, but Naruto just watched his friend closely.

“Yeah, you’re right.  Maybe I don’t really know how you feel, Sasuke.  But I do know that what you’re doing isn’t going to help solve anything.  What’s your goal?”  Across the room, pretending to be busy with his paperwork, Iruka blinked.  Sasuke snorted like it was a joke.

“I want to kill Itachi.  That’s all.”  His voice was mechanical, flat.  It was the most obvious thing in the world to him.  “It’s the only reason I’m alive.”  Naruto gave him a hard look, but he ignored it.  He had not been there, had not seen what Sasuke had.  He had not been there when Itachi had trapped him with the Mangekyo Sharingan and tortured him, making him relive the murder of his parents over and over and over again.

“Fine, then let me help too.”  Sasuke’s first show of emotion was surprise, turning to blink at his friend as if searching for an explanation.  “We’re friends, Sasuke.  If you want to kill Itachi, then I’ll help you get stronger so that you can one day.”

“M-me also, Sasuke-san,” Hinata inserted, looking uncomfortable but determined.  Sasuke looked from one to the other, shaking his head after a moment.

“You guys can’t help me,” he said after a moment, turning back to the window.  His hands were visibly shaking now; he was not telling them everything.  “Itachi . . .” he began in a gruff tone, determined to stare at nothing while he spoke.  “He said I would have to kill my best friend in order to defeat him, in order to activate my . . .” Sasuke hesitated, deciding against telling them the fullness of the Uchiha secret.  “To activate a higher level Sharingan.  I can’t have friends; I don’t want that power.”

“Oh shut up Sasuke,” Naruto grinned, rolling his eyes.  “You’re so dramatic.  C’mon, Hinata and I both know you’re not going to try to kill us.  Even if you do, we’ll team up and beat some sense into you.  Right Hinata?”  Despite looking mortified at the suggestion, she nodded quickly.  “See?  You can have friends, Sasuke.  Just don’t let your brother taunt you like that.  You’ll get him one day, the _right_ way, and we’ll be there to help you when that happens.”

A long moment passed with Sasuke’s blank expression slowly softening, until the slightest of smirks graced his lips.  For once in his life, the boy looked vulnerable, if only for a moment before collecting himself and nodding.  “Alright, I’ll try.”  Naruto was instantly ecstatic, chattering away as they walked to the yard to train together for the first time in months.  Hinata remained silent while wiping away a tear or two, smiling at her friends as they went.

Iruka had kept his head down during the ordeal, but had hung on every word exchanged between the trio.  He had felt pangs of sorrow, welling pride, and finally joy and relief.  Without his aid they were back together again, and things could start getting back to normal and healing.  Sasuke would never be the same again, he knew, and it was likely Hinata and Naruto knew as well.  But they were together, and would help him get through this.

The instructor’s role in his student’s lives was shrinking, and he knew it.  Even Naruto, who had made so much progress in the last two years, was learning to think for himself and handle situations using his own intuition and intellect.  If one of them had trouble with something, the other two would step up and provide their help.  In a few years they would be out of the academy, and they would be off in the world on missions for the village.  But Iruka was satisfied for the role he had played.  His last act as their teacher would be to assign them into groups of three post-graduation, to be placed on teams with a jonin teacher that would oversee their development into chunin.  For that Iruka would fight tooth and nail for, no matter the objections that might be raised.  He owed it to them.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

Before he knew it summer had arrived, bringing with it daily training sessions for Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke.  Iruka watched when he had the time, ever impressed at the progress his students continued to make day in and day out.  Ever since they had learned of the three jutsus they were required to know for graduation, a portion of every day had been dedicated to their mastery.  Hinata and Sasuke could easily perform their bunshin and transformation techniques, and while Naruto had never gotten the hang of the standard clone he could reliably form anywhere from one to ten kage bunshin.  He also seemed to have a knack for the Henge no Jutsu.  All three of them, however, needed to work on their Kawarimi no Jutsu – Iruka had told them that it was one of the most important.  The substitution ability would save their lives in the future.

“You know,” Iruka started carefully, eyeing the children as he approached.  “At this rate you three could probably graduate in a year or two instead of waiting four more.  You’d be genin at an earlier age than most, but I think you might be ready by then.”  Naruto looked excited, but the enthusiasm quickly diminished as he thought on it for a moment.  Sasuke shrugged and continued his chakra exercises, while Hinata looked worriedly to Naruto.

“I think I’d rather stay at the academy, sensei.  We still have a lot we can learn there, and I like our classmates a lot.  I want to graduate with them, too.”  Iruka had to stifle a grin, and merely nodded instead.  His son’s loyalty was admirable.

 _Son?_   He blinked at the thought, looking down at the blond youth that was scratching the back of his neck.  It had only been two years, but Iruka had watched as Naruto had grown from the village’s most detested delinquent to a determined, hard-working ninja in training.  Konoha’s citizens still sneered and grimaced at him, still hated him for all the wrong reasons, but he had stayed strong throughout.  Iruka was proud to be Naruto’s guardian and mentor, and maybe one day would allow himself to consider the boy as family.

The chunin turned with a wave, walking slowly back to his apartment and into the light of the setting sun.  It was no time to be thinking of things like that, he chided himself.  They were already growing up.  He made a mental note to talk to Naruto soon about how to treat young women.  The way Hinata was starting to look at the blond boy told him that it would be a necessary conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note:
> 
> Greetings.
> 
> If you’re familiar with what really happened with Itachi and the Uchiha clan massacre, its connection to Danzo and Madara etc, awesome. Otherwise, you’ll just have to take my word for it when I say that the Sandaime’s explanation is not the whole story, and that’s intentional. It doesn’t get out in the canon either.
> 
> I am getting ready for a major time skip next chapter that spans two or three years. Now that the Uchiha massacre is done, the major events for their young lives are done with and I can move on to near the start of the show/manga. There will only be one other major happening before their graduation and team assignments, so I guess expect two larger time skips in the next chapter. One to get there, and one to move on from that.
> 
> Lastly, most of the last three chapters have been introspection on Iruka’s part. As he is the pivotal point in this AU, I felt it was important to examine his point of view. Going forward I will be focusing a great deal on the three main character’s developments instead, as the last few paragraphs here suggest.
> 
> Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed.


	4. Secrets

Time seemed to race by in the aftermath of the Uchiha clan massacre.  Naruto and his friends all had goals to work towards: Sasuke sought revenge for his clan, Hinata worked for recognition from her father, and Naruto continued to seek the post of Hokage.  All three knew what it would take to accomplish their dreams, and each was willing to sacrifice to help the others obtain theirs.  With this mindset they trained, honing their skills on one another throughout their years at the academy.

Almost three years had passed since the group had been reunited.  Each of them had mastered the three required jutsu – except Naruto.  He had long since given up on the Bunshin no Jutsu after Iruka insisted that the Kage Bunshin technique would be more than sufficient to pass the final exams.  Following their successes in ninjutsu, the group took it upon themselves to learn more.  Hinata had been taught of elemental jutsus by her father at the Hyuga estate, sharing the information with her companions.  Sasuke, of course, seemed to have a knack for fire techniques, having already mastered one of them at a young age.  The other two didn’t know what affinity they possessed, so simply learning simple techniques was the only way to go about it.

Over the course of time each of them picked up additional jutsus.  Naruto had the most difficult time with this, learning two basic survival techniques to the three or four his friends accomplished.  They were both wind-based: one erased scents while the other god rid of tracks.

Sasuke naturally picked up the jutsus for lighting fires and self-heating for cold climates.  However, to their surprise he also learned a few lightning-style techniques with relative ease.  His pride was kept in check by his own advice, however, noting that the abilities they were learning were all non-combat and their usefulness extended only so far.

Hinata struggled with the elemental jutsus, although not to the same extent Naruto had.  She chose, by elimination more or less, to master the water-based jutsus, and after much painstaking practice she finally managed it.  She was, however, the only one of their group besides Sasuke that was able to pick up an offensive technique: an earth-style ability that ruptured the ground around a target, preventing movement by trapping their feet.  It worked surprisingly well in conjunction with Sasuke’s fireball.

After three years it was not difficult to tell which of them had the advantage in taijutsu.  Although Sasuke and Hinata’s stamina had increased dramatically, neither could match Naruto’s endurance.  By the time they were all ten years old he was able to spar them both to exhaustion with energy to spare.  The blond knew that what he lacked in chakra manipulation he would have to make up for with his taijutsu, and as such focused his efforts on more advanced hand-to-hand combat techniques.

Training aside, Naruto had branched out from his group and befriended a few other of his classmates.  He got along with Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba fairly well, but despite his best efforts it was hard to get even a nod out of Shino, let alone a conversation.  Ino and Sakura seemed to despise him for ‘getting in their way’ or something, although it seemed the majority of their vehemence was directed at Hinata.  In their mind, she was competition for Sasuke, and as the only female the Uchiha spent time with she was a prime target for their spite.  Sasuke had no interest in making additional friends or returning the affections of his admirers.

Hinata seemed content with her two friends, though she was still painfully shy even with them.  No amount of interaction or encouragement seemed to help.  Naruto was eternally vexed at this, but resolved just to be the best friend he could be in the absence of others.  Every time she looked at him a light blush sprang up unbidden, forcing her eyes back to the ground.  Iruka had told him that it meant she liked him, and when the boy matter-of-factly stated he liked her too, his teacher had just shaken his head and said it ‘wasn’t the same’.  Whatever; he would figure it out later.

Shortly after Sasuke’s eleventh birthday, at the beginning of their fifth year, Iruka announced to the class that survival training would commence in September.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

“This week is the Tenth Training Ground, right?” Naruto asked between bowls of ramen.  It was October 10, five weeks into their survival training program, and they had decided to celebrate Naruto’s birthday at Ichiraku’s.  It was rare that Hinata and Sasuke were with Naruto around so many people, and it was the first time they had been on his birthday.

“Yes, I think so,” Hinata said quietly, staring down at her untouched bowl and looking overtly concerned.  The girl had changed her normal outfit from years before, favoring a slightly oversized beige coat and a pair of dark capris.  The new attire was not on her mind, however, and neither was the upcoming survival training.  As they had taken the day off of training and spent more time in the bustle of the village, the Hyuga heiress had noticed more harsh looks towards Naruto than usual.  It had always bothered her, the way they looked at her friend and muttered curses as he passed.  But today was different than most days.  More than one individual had openly sneered at Naruto, one going so far as to say he was a demon child.  Naruto had simply ignored them like always; he said Iruka didn’t like him getting upset with those people.  But it upset _her._

“N-Naruto-kun,” she started hesitantly, cursing herself for stuttering.  “People seem . . . More cruel to you today.  I-I mean, more than they usually are . . .” Hinata trailed off dismally, both depressed for her friend’s sake and helpless to come up with a solution, or even a reason why.

“It’s always like that on my birthday, Hinata-chan,” he stated matter-of-factly.  He failed to notice the furious blush on his friend’s face as a result of the added suffix, something he had started doing a year before.  In truth it was not something he thought about much; for whatever reason, the citizens of Konoha expressed greater distaste for Naruto around October 10.  “It’s not a big deal,” he shrugged, slurping down a mouthful of noodles from his miso flavored ramen.

“Better to just ignore them anyway,” Sasuke grunted, stretching on his stool.  Hinata bit her lip, glancing at her dark-haired friend before looking back down at the counter.  She had watched Naruto over the years with her Byakugan, noting the steady increase in the red chakra she had first noticed years earlier.  The more she considered it, the further convinced she was that it was the source of her friend’s travails.  Sasuke shared her concerns in a way, but he didn’t seem concerned about getting to the bottom of it.  As far as he was concerned, if it made Naruto a stronger person, the villagers’ attitudes might even be considered a boon.

But Hinata could see it, even if Sasuke refused to.  In the same way that Sasuke had hardened a mask of apathy over the years, Naruto had created one of nonchalance and humor.  She admired Naruto in the fact that, despite adversity, he put on a brave face day after day and tried his hardest, no matter what.  If only she could be so brave.

“I’ll . . . Meet you both at the park.  I have something to um . . . Take care of.”  With a rushed bow to Ichiraku’s owner, Teuchi, she rushed off into the busy streets, a few coins left by her untouched bowl.  Naruto watched after her for a moment before turning back to the counter, looking down at his noodles pensively.  He felt . . . Uncomfortable, for some reason.

“Naruto!”  The chastising tone came from within the shop.  Ayame – Teuchi’s daughter – stalked out of the kitchen with her hands on her hips.  “What did you do to upset that girl?”  Her father sighed, waving a hand at her and cutting in before she could continue.

“Naruto didn’t do anything Ayame; when have you ever known our Naruto to be mean?”  The kindly middle-aged man smiled at the blond, who returned his grin appreciatively.

“True, dad, but that doesn’t mean he knows how to handle a girl’s feelings.  You’d better be careful, hear me?”  Her eyes shot daggers at the boy before softening and winking.  Ayame liked him almost as much as her father, and the berating she afforded him only proved as much.  “I’m just kidding, Naruto.  Would you and your friend like another bowl on the house?  It’s your birthday, after all!”  Sasuke turned her down, though Naruto took up her offer enthusiastically.  He would figure out what was up with Hinata later.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

Hinata had quickly made her way to the library, ducking her head as she passed the front desk to search the archives.  She had gone there once or twice for the same purpose, as her family library did not seem to have the information she sought.  After a fruitless search in the history section, finding books going back about ten years, skipping a few, and continuing through antiquity, she timidly approached one of the library’s keepers.

“Ano . . . Excuse me,” she started, drawing a hard stare before the librarian recognized her and bowed respectfully.  Hinata always felt uncomfortable when people’s attitudes changed upon realizing her heritage.  “I can’t seem to find any information regarding the end of the Third War, specifically about our village,” she began innocently enough, willing her stutter away.  “There’s some vague information about a Kyuubi no Kitsune destroying Konoha, but there aren’t many details.  Are there any records of our village near that time, about eleven years ago?”  The keeper gave Hinata a long, flat look before responding coolly.

“That information is classified.  Only a shinobi of higher rank than chunin can access it.  I apologize for the inconvenience, miss.”  Another bow signaled the end of the conversation, leaving a confused girl to distress over what it meant.  She had accepted that her father had been unable to disclose the information to her, as it appeared Sasuke’s had.  If the adults could not tell them under any circumstance, that meant it was a law rather than a well-kept secret.  But what kind of law demanded that an entire period of Konoha history be kept secret from the public?  And what did this have to do with Naruto?

Hinata left the library with more questions than when she had arrived, head spinning with possibilities but none of them leading her to an answer.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

A few days later their class was gathered in the yard outside of the academy, all sporting small packs that only carried camping equipment.  Many of the students were buzzing excitedly, while others seemed disinterested or even worried.

“Alright everyone,” Iruka said brightly as he strode towards them, clipboard in hand with a small pack of his own.  “As you know, we’re going to be spending three days in Training Ground Ten, which is along the eastern outskirts of the village.  Unlike out previous survival training, this is a solo exercise, so there will be no teams here.”  A collective groan and a few worried glances met his announcement.  “Now don’t worry too much; myself and Mizuki-sensei will be patrolling the area to make sure nothing happens.  Area Ten is about twenty-four square kilometers of dense forest, but there are no inherent dangers outside of your normal wild animals.  And let me make this clear: although we are not setting limited boundaries for you, we expect you to avoid your classmates.  If we find that you have been allying with one another to complete the exercise, all offending parties will receiving a failing grade.  Am I clear?”  Everybody nodded.  “Good.  Then follow me!”

Ten minutes later they all stood in front of the entrance to a vast forest, surrounded only with wooden stakes every few dozen meters to mark the training area.  Naruto shrugged his shoulders, adjusting his pack as he chatted with Sasuke and Hinata for a few minutes before they were to enter.  The majority of it was him talking _at_ them, as per usual.

“This is going to be fun,” he remarked in a bubbly fashion, bouncing on the balls of his feet.  “I doubt the rest of the class has learned even half the survival techniques we have.  This’ll be no problem!”  Sasuke nodded before looking off into the forest, seeming uninterested.  Hinata looked worried, and although that was a normal look for her, it seemed a bit more pronounced today.  “You alright, Hinata-chan?”  Startled, as if snapped out of a reverie, the girl blushed and nodded quickly, pushing her index fingers together and staring at the ground.  Naruto made a face and looked towards Iruka.

“Alright, half of you will be staying here with me.  The rest of you follow Mizuki-sensei to the opposite end of the forest.  We’ve synchronized our watches, so at nine sharp everybody will enter the forest at once.  I expect you all to disperse immediately, understood?”  A chorus of ‘yes sensei’ and the silver-haired chunin – Mizuki – nodded, calling out names to follow him before dashing around the perimeter.

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief when she was chosen to follow Mizuki with Naruto.  Sasuke afforded them a small smirk as they ran off.  It took about fifteen minutes to circumvent the forest, but they arrived with ten minutes to spare until the departure time.  The Hyuga girl stood fidgeting next to Naruto, jumping as she felt his hand touch her shoulder.  “Hey, relax Hinata-chan.  I know you’ll do great,” he said with a big, squinty-eyed smile.  Despite her flush, she returned the smile meekly.  Naruto had a way of making her feel better, even with so much on her mind.

“Alright, thirty seconds to go,” Mizuki drawled, sounding bored.  “Remember, no working together.  And,” he continued, eyes traveling over Naruto and lingering for a moment.  “Be careful out there.”  Hinata bit her lip, but there was no time for questions or comments.  The chunin gave the signal and they were off, darting into the trees and scattering in every direction.

_Be safe, Naruto-kun._

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

A day had passed uneventfully in the forest.  Naruto sat dozing against a tree in his small camp in the approaching twilight, his small tent and the remainder of a fire nearby.  He had been forced to start the fire manually using some flint and tinder, something Sasuke would never have to do.  But he had managed, and after catching a rabbit for dinner and doing some exploring he had quickly fallen asleep.  Survival training was pretty boring, after all.

A light rustling nearby roused him immediately, instincts kicking in as he stood into a crouch, kunai clutched in one hand.  His eyes darted around, trying to find where the noise had come from when a fistful of shuriken streaked towards him from a tree across the small clearing.  He rolled to the side, slightly panicked at being attacked.  A classmate would not use weapons against him, so who could it be?

Naruto had gotten used to death threats, and there had even been a few attempts on his life in the orphanage.  But since living with Iruka the attacks had ceased, and now was the first time the boy had felt his life threatened in years.

“Well, looks like the demon is quick on his feet.”  Mizuki dropped from a nearby tree, flanked by two shinobi who also wore vests indicating their rank as chunin.  One was a heavyset, stocky man brandishing a weighty club.  The other was a wicked looking woman that looked to be in her mid-twenties; her weapon of choice was a short, curved sword drawn from a sheath on her back.  Mizuki had two giant shuriken strapped to his back and was currently spinning a kunai on the index finger of each hand.  Naruto could feel their killing intent from where he stood.

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” Naruto yelled quickly, summoning as many clones as he could manage.  Thirty clones, all armed with kunai, crouched in front of the oncoming group.  _Three chunin.  One me, thirty clones to work with._   The odds were stacked against him, he knew; the bunshin were much sturdier than regular clones and could act on their own in a way, but a solid blow would disperse them.  Naruto knew that he had trained hard for the last several years, but these were three that had been ninjas for longer than he had been alive.  They had the advantage of experience, and were likely stronger than him individually.

“What did I ever do to you?” one of the clones growled contemptuously, edging forward slightly.  The rest muttered agreement, as if they had all been poised to ask the same thing.  The real Naruto waited, watching and worrying.

“What did you do?”  Mizuki laughed; it was a cold, hollow sound.  “Why, you destroyed half the village, killed the Fourth Hokage, and murdered countless others.  Including Iruka-sensei’s parents.”

“Mizuki,” the male crony muttered, glancing around nervously.  “That’s against-”

“So?  The boy’s about to die; he may as well learn of his heritage.”  The silver-haired chunin grinned, eyes flashing in the fading light.  Without warning he flung the two kunai mid-spin, piercing four clones in total.  In a fluid motion he had detached one of the monstrous shuriken from his back and flung it hard, and despite efforts to dodge another handful of bunshin vanished in puffs of smoke.  Eighteen Narutos remained.

“I’m not a demon!” Naruto shouted, letting a fist of shuriken fly followed closely by his kunai.  Several of the clones threw their weapons as well.  Mizuki dodged most of them without issue, though was forced to deflect several with another kunai.  His allies were not as quick, the woman rolling to the side with a gash on one arm, the stocky man growling and pulling a shuriken from his thigh.

“Oh yes you are, Naruto-kun.”  He threw more shuriken, piercing three more clones.  With only fifteen bunshin remaining Naruto decided he had to act.  He tried to ignore Mizuki’s taunting as his clones engaged the two chunin, leaving his instructor to walk slowly towards him.  “Eleven years ago the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked Konoha.  It nearly destroyed everything, and would have if the Yondaime had not sacrificed his life to protect the village.  He sealed the demon inside of a newborn, a child born October 10, eleven years ago.”

Naruto was desperately trying not to listen, but the words pierced through his concentration.  The villager’s murmurs and curses made sense.  _Damn fox.  Demon.  Destroyer._ Separately they had not meant much, but together they corroborated Mizuki’s taunting.  And the red chakra . . .

“Shut up!”  Naruto shouted, another kunai in his hand as he charged forward.  To Mizuki’s surprise the boy was not a pushover, forcing him to actively defend himself from a bout of skillful taijutsu interwoven with thrusts and slashes from the kunai.

“Hey kid, you’re not bad.  Too bad you’re just too inexperienced.”  As Naruto thrust forward, burying his blade into the man, he gasped.  Mizuki had vanished in a cloud of smoke, a log left in his place, inside of which Naruto’s kunai had been lodged.  The boy turned, but not fast enough.  An intense stab of pain caused him to stagger forward, the oversized shuriken protruding from his back.  “Too easy.”

His remaining clones dispersed, though only three had lasted that long.  The two chunin appeared to be panting, not having expected the bunshin to put up such a fight.  The furious kunoichi was a little worse for wear, sporting multiple cuts and gashes whereas her male counterpart had inflicted only minor injuries.  “I’m gonna kill this kid,” she growled.

“Now now, we have to make this quick or else we’ll be discovered,” Mizuki droned, bored.  “You both get one shot each before I finish him.  Be sure not to kill him; that privilege is mine alone.”

Naruto was on his knees, breathing hard.  The Kage Bunshin technique had taken a lot of chakra, more than he had expected.  On top of that, he had expended the majority of his projectiles and was losing blood fast.  Mizuki approached casually, and though Naruto attempted to struggle to his feet the man viciously yanked the weapon from his back.  He gasped, falling back to the ground and coughing up blood.

“Me first,” the woman scowled, stepping forward with her sword drawn.  With a ruthless thrust the blade pierced through his shoulder near the collarbone, cutting into the bone on its way through his body.  Naruto ground his teeth together, trying and failing not to cry out.  His scream was interrupted by a fit of coughs, splattering more of his blood on the forest floor.  The woman smirked and left the sword in, striding away and looking satisfied.

The other chunin approached with little ceremony.  Channeling chakra into his club, he swung it hard, catching Naruto in the chest.  A sickening crunch seemed to echo around the small clearing.  Naruto was launched up and backwards, slamming into a tree and dislocating his shoulder.  Before he could fall to the ground, eight of Mizuki’s shuriken pinned his limbs to the tree trunk.

“I’ve been waiting to see this for years, Uzumaki Naruto.  Or should I say Kyuubi no Kitsune?  Either way, it’s time to rid you from our village once and for all.”  A kunai appeared in the man’s hand, light from the sinking sun glinting off of the blade menacingly.

Naruto was barely conscious.  His vision was hazy and marred by blood that had dripped into his eyes.  He could hardly even see the kunai that was threatening to finish him off, but he knew it was there.  He could hear Mizuki’s voice, like an echo coming from far off.  But he knew.  _Can’t die . . . Not yet.  Have to help Sasuke, have to . . . Hokage.  Hinata, too.  Can’t . . ._

“Doton: Earth Rupture!” a breathless voice yelled from the trees.

Mizuki leapt into the air as soon as he recognized the jutsu, snarling as he was forced to backflip away from his prey.  His two comrades were either caught off guard or too injured to move, because both found their legs trapped in a mixture of earth and rock that had sprung from the ground.  Mizuki cast around frantically for the source before glaring back at Naruto.  He could at least finish the job before retreating.  He fired off two kunai at the incapacitated boy.

A small form shot from the underbrush, reaching Naruto in a blur of speed and deflecting the two projectiles with a kunai.  The trapped blond could not even lift his head to see what was going on, his half-lidded eyes only able to make out the furry hem of a tan jacket and a pair of dark pants, cut off below the knee.

Hinata stood in a ready stance directly in front of Naruto, breathing harder than normal and struggling to maintain control of her emotions.  With the help of her Byakugan she had watched the scene unfold, cursing her legs for their inability to carry her faster than the dead sprint she had been moving at.  She choked back tears; even without looking she could see her friend’s condition clearly – the Hyuga bloodline ability provided nearly 360 degree vision.

“I made it . . .” she breathed, trying desperately to calm herself.  She had chosen a location to camp that had been within the maximum range of her Byakugan from Naruto, and although she had felt silly about it at the time she now thanked whatever gods that existed for their aid.

“Cute, the demon’s girlfriend comes to the rescue.  I don’t have time for this.”  Mizuki grunted, pulling both shuriken from his back and releasing them towards the girl, one after another with the second hovering just below the first.

“Hin . . . ata . . .” Naruto barely whispered, his collapsed lung working against any attempt to speak.  “Run . . .” He coughed weakly, more blood dripping from his lips.  Hinata clenched her jaw and pulled out another kunai, shaking her head violently.

“I won’t!”  It was the most forceful thing the girl had ever said.  “I won’t just let you die!”  She knew that stopping both massive projectiles would be nearly impossible on her own, but she had to try.  If she moved they would strike Naruto head on, ensuring his demise.  No, she would stop them.  She had to.

As the whirling blades approached she channeled as much chakra as she could into her hands, forcing it into the kunai.  The blades vibrated violently, not meant to hold chakra, but it was all she had.  The first shuriken struck her hard, grinding against the chakra enhanced blades that were crossed in front of her.  She ground her teeth and was forced back a half meter, and despite the burning in her limbs she let one hand drop.  The released pressure brought the spinning weapon centimeters from her neck, held back just barely by a trembling arm.  She grunted as the second shuriken impacted, striking at the lowered weapon in front of her torso.

It was too much, as expected.  Hinata’s feet dragged against the dirt, heels forced back until they touched the tree holding Naruto.  The second shuriken was already burning into her side, blood splattering backwards.  She cried out in pain, and her kunai shattered.  Her chakra-infused hands were the only things holding them back now, skin tearing from her palms from the incredible friction.  This was it.  She was going to die.  One last thought flit through her mind as the rotating blades reached her throat.  _At least I can die with him._

And then the pressure was gone.  Hinata collapsed at the base of the tree, blue flames flickering from her bleeding palms as she sagged against the base of the tree.  Her breath was ragged, but aside from the deep gash in her side she was unharmed.  She cast around her enhanced vision quickly, her pounding head making it take a little longer to locate her rescuer.

“Sasuke-san . . .”

The Uchiha stood several meters to the side, both shuriken spinning in his hands.  His eyes were hard on Mizuki, cold and calculating.  Hinata had been so focused on stopping the weapons that she had not seen him fly in from the side to snatch the weapons away.

“Stay with Naruto, Hinata-san.  I’ll take it from here.”  She nodded tiredly, unable to move at the moment even if she had the desire to.  Sasuke spread his arms, launching the blades back at their owner with deadly precision.  Mizuki was forced to dodge away, the shuriken slicing into the tree he had been standing in.  “Katon: Great Fireball!”  Instead of aiming at Mizuki, Sasuke had fired the massive flame at the two immobilized ninja who had been struggling to free themselves since being captured moments earlier.  A pair of screams rent the air as the fireball passed and dissipated, leaving two scorched, twitching bodies behind.  They were not dead, but their burns would effectively take them out of the fight.

“I get how the Hyuga got here, but how did a brat like you find us?” the chunin asked in an exasperated tone, wrinkling his nose at the smell of scorched flesh.  Seeing his comrades taken down did not seem to bother him in the least.

“I was searching for a water source when I saw you pass by,” Sasuke responded evenly, fingers curling into fists.  “It seemed suspicious that you had two other chunin with you, so I followed.  You shouldn’t be so careless.”

“Whatever.  Two down, one to go!” Mizuki snarled, landing across the clearing from Sasuke.

“I was thinking the same thing, sensei,” he said coolly, crouching into a taijutsu stance.  “I don’t know why you want to kill Naruto, but I won’t let you lay another finger on him or Hinata-san.”  Unwilling to let Mizuki respond, he rushed forward and attacked.

“I really hate kids,” Mizuki grunted after receiving a solid blow to his stomach, returning a kick that brushed Sasuke’s chin.  For kids, they weren’t bad.  But they were still kids.  He was better than them; he knew it.  “Doton: Earth Fist!”

Sasuke grunted as the blow crushed his block and struck his shoulder, sending him careening back into the center of the clearing.  He managed to land on his feet, but his arm hung limply at his side and his breathing was labored.  Mizuki appeared to be having difficulties breathing now as well, having manipulated his large shuriken several times and fought two opponents, on top of being forced to use a more advanced earth-style jutsu.

“Alright, enough playing; sit down, kid.  Doton: Earth Rupture!”  He pushed a palm to the ground, forcing the ground around Sasuke up and capturing a leg before he could leap away.  “Now stay there and watch.  I’m going to kill the demon and your friend now, and then I’ll come back to you.”

“Get back here and fight me you bastard!” Sasuke shouted, striking at the rocks about his leg, struggling to break free.  _Not again.  Not again.  Not again._

“You’ll get yours soon.  First I’m gonna have some fun with little miss Hyuga here.”  Mizuki’s smirk could only be described as evil.  He approached Hinata with deliberate slowness, eyeing her up and down.  “You know, you’re pretty well developed for your age.  I might actually enjoy this.”  He laughed, a sound that chilled the helpless girl to her bones.

But she couldn’t move.  All she could do was glare defiantly at him, pressing herself back against the tree.  Naruto’s vision was going dark, and the sounds he could hear were muffled.  He could see the way Mizuki was looking at Hinata, however, and it made him . . . Angry.  He held on to the anger as if it were a lifeline, pouring his hate into it.  Every shred of scorn and loathing that had built up over the years was suddenly boiling over.  His vision gained a red tint, and then everything went dark.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

 ** _“Uzumaki Naruto,”_** a voice rumbled in a dull roar, rousing him.  Every centimeter of his being felt like it was on fire as he slowly sat up, wondering why everything was so . . . Wet.  **_“Uzumaki Naruto,”_** the voice came again, louder this time.  Why did it sound so familiar?  Naruto glanced around as he stood, jaw dropping as he saw the massive gate he had woken in front of.

The ceiling of the colossal room disappeared into darkness, as did the rust-colored bars of what appeared to be a prison cell.  A large square paper was placed over where the two sides of the gate met, the word ‘seal’ written plainly on it.  Beyond the gate lay complete blackness, save for a pair of giant crimson eyes.  The pupils were barely visible slits.

 ** _“UZUMAKI NARUTO.”_** The roar nearly knocked him over, a wave of pure hate washing over him from inside of the cell.  **_“Answer me you damned brat.  If you don’t do so quickly, you and I are both dead.”_**

“Who . . . What are you?” he asked hesitantly.  His head hurt; _everything_ hurt.  Where was this?  How did he get there?  Where was . . . “Where’s Hinata?  And Sasuke?  Where are my friends?”  He was panicking, looking around wildly and all but ignoring the menacing chuckle that shook the room.

**_“Fool.  You’re a hair’s breadth from death and you think of your friends.  I’d love to talk, but right now you need me or you and your friends will die, which means I die too.  Come over here.”_ **

“Why should I trust you?”  Naruto’s mind was racing, trying to put everything together.  At every turn he was brought back to the only thing that made sense: the demon.  This was his demon.  Mizuki had been telling the truth.  He suddenly felt sick, lurching forward and dry heaving into the shallow water.

**_“You don’t have a choice, idiot.  Look, I’m not trying to escape; I’ll work on that later.  Right now, we need to live.  Now get your imbecilic ass over here before your girlfriend gets gutted, or worse.”_ **

Naruto stiffened, straightening slowly.  He had no idea where he was, was helpless to escape, and the last thing he remembered was Mizuki walking up to Hinata and taking her arm.  Was he dead?  He shook his head, taking a step forward, then another.  Moving was difficult, for some reason.  A moment later he was directly in front of the gate, staring into one of the giant irises.  A single claw extended from the darkness, reaching slowly through the space between the bars.  It hovered a moment less than a meter from him, before plunging straight through his chest.

The world spun, and a mad cackle roared in his ears as everything faded away again.

**_“Don’t die, kid.”_ **

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

Hinata pulled futilely on the arm Mizuki held, tears leaping to her eyes unbidden.  _I can’t cry.  I won’t.  Naruto-kun wouldn’t like that.  Naruto-kun . . ._ She couldn’t help it.  A choked sob racked her diminutive form as the sinister chunin reached for her neck.  This was it.  She was going to die crying.  _How pitiful . . . Father was right; I don’t deserve to be the heiress.  I don’t . . ._

She blinked.  Mizuki had frozen, hand so close to her neck that he could feel the heat from his palm.  Instead of focusing on her, his eyes were bulging, staring at something behind her.  And then she felt it: a massive chakra spike unlike anything she had ever experienced.  If she had not already been on the ground it would have brought her to her knees.  The rocks surrounding Sasuke and the defected chunin crumbled.  Slowly, she turned her head, not trusting the Byakugan to see for her.  Hinata’s breath caught in her throat.

“Naruto . . . kun . . .”

A shroud of red chakra enveloped Naruto, surging around him and spiking at odd angles.  The shuriken pinning him to the tree dissolved inside of the malevolent chakra, and Naruto fell to the ground on all fours.  He was so close to Hinata that she could hear the bones grinding together as he moved, and she could see his wounds sizzling shut.  The chakra was pouring out of him like a fountain, and she could see the strange seal on his torso from where it seemed to come.  Frozen in fear, she merely stared at her friend, wide-eyed and unable to speak.

Sasuke had fallen to his knees as the wave of killing intent hit him, his eyes locked on Naruto, disbelief painted all across his features.  “Naruto . . .?”  He could say nothing else.  Never had he seen anything like this from his friend, or anyone else for that matter.  The power radiating from the blond was otherworldly.

All at once the aura faded, fiery chakra dissipating to leave only a thin veil surrounding Naruto.  He was standing tall, staring at Mizuki with his head cocked to the side.  His face was contorted in what appeared to be a feral snarl.  The nails on his hands had grown to what appeared to be claws, and the whisker-like scars on his face had broadened.  But it was his eyes that held the most terror.  Naruto’s bright blue eyes that always held so much hope and joy were now the color of blood, pupils reduced to vertical slits like that of some . . . Demon.

Mizuki staggered backwards, falling to the ground with a frightened cry.  “S-see, I t-told you!  You’re a d-demon!  Get away!  G-get away!”  He was trying to scramble to his feet and flee.  Hinata would never forget the horrid grin that graced her friend’s lips at that moment.

Neither Sasuke or Hinata had seen him move, but suddenly Naruto was next to Mizuki.  With a sickening crunch the chunin was launched into the air, his ribs crushed with a single kick from the enraged youth.  Before he had flown out of reach he was caught, Naruto’s claws digging deep into his shoulder and preventing him from moving further away.  The bloodthirsty grin did not falter.  Mizuki was thrust towards the ground, forming a small crater with the force and fracturing nearly every bone on the left side of his body.  Blood spilled from his mouth as broken ribs punctured his lungs.

It had all happened so fast that Hinata and Sasuke were barely able to follow it.  Now, however, Naruto slowly lifted the broken shinobi into the air by his neck, ignoring the gurgling pleas.  He pulled a fist back and chambered it, eyes boring into the barely struggling query.

“ _Any last words?_ ” Naruto snarled, echoing the man’s words from minutes earlier.  Mizuki’s one working eye went wide in terror as the boy smirked again.  Naruto’s killing intent had not diminished since the strange ability had activated; as a matter of fact, it had increased, and now felt like a heavy blanket of pressure on the whole clearing.

“Naruto-kun!” Hinata gasped, causing him to falter, crimson eyes traveling slowly to her.  “Don’t do it, please,” she pleaded, almost sobbing.  “It’s enough; you won.  Please, just put him down.  We’re safe now.  Please . . .” Her body shook as a fresh wave of sorrow took her.

It was too painful to watch.  Her best friend, the boy she admired more than anybody had turned into something he was not.  He was ready to kill that man in cold blood even after nearly beating him to death.  The battle was won, but Naruto’s blood-thirst was palpable.  She could see it in his eyes, feel it in the air.  This wasn’t Naruto.  “Please,” she cried one last time.

Naruto glared at the girl and his face contorted, as if having a sudden emotional conflict.  He turned back towards Mizuki and grinned, and for a moment seemed like he was going to strike the finishing blow.  But instead the chunin fell to the ground in a pitiful twitching heap, Naruto’s fist falling to his side.  Slowly the red glow faded, his nails reverting back to their original state.  The last to change were his eyes, shifting from red to blue, then back again several times before finally settling on the familiar aquamarine.

And then he was falling.  The last thing he remembered was Sasuke running to his side and Hinata calling his name.  Then everything got cold, and the world spun into blackness.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

The first thing he heard sounded like worried whispers which stopped abruptly as his finger twitched.  Everything hurt, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.  Breathing was difficult and swallowing felt like drinking fire.  There was a foreign pressure near his side and in his palm, but for a time his eyelids felt too heavy to open and check what they were.  An uncomfortable light shone from somewhere above him.  He was tired.  Sleep took him over again.  The second time he roused things hurt less, but the pressure was still there.  There was no light this time, thankfully.  Slowly, painfully, he opened his eyes.

Naruto was resting on a hospital bed, with a curtain drawn around him and a window nearby.  It was dark outside, but the moonlight let him see that nearly every part of him was wrapped in bandages or in a cast.  He tried to move his arm, but quickly found that it was a mistake.  A soft gasp escaped him as pain shot up from his fingers to the base of his neck.  Something stirred near his other arm, and he glanced down to find the source.

Hinata lay asleep in a chair next to him, her head resting near his side, one of her bandaged hands tucked into the cast on his hand.  There were dark circles under her eyes and the sheets near her face were wet.  He could see bandages through the gash in her coat as well.  Naruto watched her for a time, several different emotions vying for his attention before he finally tore his eyes away.  Sasuke was there as well, sleeping silently in an armchair near the window. 

Tears burned as they fell down Naruto’s face; his sad smile was only the slightest upward twitch at the corner of his mouth.  _They’re safe._ It was the only thought in his mind as he closed his eyes, calm replacing the overwhelming sadness and pain that wracked his soul.  As long as they were safe, everything was alright.  Even if he had killed Mizuki, even if he was a demon, even if he had died; his friends were safe.  That comfort carried him back to a fitful slumber, with nightmares of demon eyes haunting him for hours.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

“Oww, Hinata-chan that hurts!”  Naruto flinched, though couldn’t help but smile.  It had been a week since the incident with Mizuki and he was healing fast, already out of his casts and just waiting for the major internal injuries to fully repair.  Hinata and Sasuke had returned to classes a few days prior, but rather than train as Naruto insisted they always came to his room after with Iruka.

“S-sorry, Naruto-kun,” she stammered, turning a deep shade of pink and stepping back.  It was the first time they had seen him without his casts, and the girl had been overcome with the desire to hug her friend out of a mix of joy and relief at seeing his recovery.  She slid back off of the bed to sit pressing her index fingers together, staring at the floor and looking every bit as embarrassed as she felt.

“It’s alright; just try not to hug so hard next time,” he joked lightly, grinning at Sasuke who was standing near the base of the bed.  “How’re classes going, glove boy?”

“Very funny,” Sasuke remarked dryly, but cracked a smirk despite himself.  His forearm was still covered in the plaster cast and held up by a sling.  “It’s not my fault I can’t recover freakishly fast from my bones shattering.  Classes are boring as always, though just a good amount worse since I can’t spar.”  He grimaced at his arm before taking a seat and leaning against the wall with a sigh.

“When did your medic-nin say you could be released?”  The question came from Iruka this time, who had been standing behind Sasuke.  He was putting on a brave face like he always did visiting Naruto; in truth he was riddled with guilt for what had happened to his students.  He knew, deep down, that it had not been his fault, but he was responsible for their lives while they were at the academy.  He wasn’t sure if he would ever forgive himself.

“Another week at best,” Naruto lamented, making a face and throwing his hands in the air, an action he immediately regretted for the spikes of pain it sent through his healing pectorals.  He winced and quickly moved his arms back down, grinning foolishly.

“You had better not try to leave early,” Iruka lectured sternly to his sullen charge.  “It’s your responsibility to heal up quickly so you can resume your training.  You only have one year left after this.”

“Iruka-sensei,” Sasuke interrupted suddenly, causing the three present to turn to him curiously.  The boy had become quieter since Itachi’s betrayal, but he had been particularly withheld in the last week.  His next statement surprised everybody more than the interruption had.  “Could you give us a few minutes to talk?”  Iruka blinked, glancing at Naruto for a moment before nodding slowly.

“Sure, Sasuke.  I need to head to a meeting soon anyway.  I’ll see you two tomorrow, and Naruto,” he continued, hesitating at the entrance to the room.  “Get some rest.  Don’t keep your friend up too long, you two.”  With a smile and a wave he was gone, the door sliding shut behind him.

Sasuke stood and drew the curtain around Naruto’s bed so that they couldn’t be seen from the hallway.  He walked slowly back to his chair and sat down heavily, rubbing his temples with his uninjured hand.  "Naruto, I can’t put the question off anymore.”  As he started speaking Naruto averted his gaze opposite both of his friends, mouth turning down into a rare frown.  He knew what was coming; it had only been a matter of time.  “What was that . . . Thing.  What happened in the woods that day?”

The silence rang loudly in their ears for a time as Naruto struggled with a response.  Hinata was biting her lip and looking from Sasuke to Naruto, worry etched on her smooth features.  Finally he shrugged, another action he regretted immediately.  “I don’t know,” he answered in partial honesty, still not meeting either of his friend’s eyes.  “I just got really mad all of a sudden when Mizuki-sensei went for Hinata-chan.  It felt like . . . Drowning in anger or something.”

“Mizuki isn’t our sensei anymore.  And that doesn’t explain the red chakra that was leaking out of you, or that insane speed and strength.  And your eyes; why were they red?”  Naruto blinked several times, and it took a moment for him to notice that he was blinking back tears of frustration.

“I don’t . . . I don’t remember most of it.  I remember going for him, then lifting him up, and then Hinata-chan’s voice.  After that I blacked out again.”  It was an honest answer, even if not what Sasuke was asking.  Everything was muddled in his head, but he knew what had happened.  Hinata’s hand twitched in her lap, like it wanted to move somewhere but lacked the strength or courage.

“Mizuki called you a demon,” Sasuke stated flatly, scowling at him.  “It’s the same thing I’ve heard the villagers call you.  Before last week I just took it as run-of-the-mill insults, but now I’m not so sure.  Does this have to do with the secret none of the adults will talk about?”

“Probably,” Naruto said tightly, gritting his teeth.  “Look I don’t want to talk about it.  It’s not . . . It’s none of your business.”  He was glaring at wall still, but there was a frightened look in his eyes that Hinata could barely make out.  Sasuke just looked at him hard, considering pushing the topic further.

“Fine.” Sasuke rose from his chair pulled back the curtain.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”  Then he was gone, the door closing behind him moments later.

Naruto continued his staring contest with the wall, trying not to let a fresh wave of tears have their way.  A timid hand touched his and he turned back to Hinata, her eyes shimmering with the same unshed tears.  “I guess you want to know if I’m a demon too,” he spat miserably, hating himself as soon as the words left his mouth.  Her hand retreated a small distance and she gave him a look that made him feel like he had just stabbed her.  But surprisingly her hand moved back to his, tenderly slipping her fingers past his palm and gripping tightly.

“I know you’re not a demon, Naruto-kun,” she said softly, willing her eyes to stay on his.  Flashes of the once blood-thirsty spheres played in her vision but she pushed them away, looking only to the Naruto she knew and cared for.  “Y-you don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to . . . But Naruto-kun,” she started with more passion than she knew was inside of her, “It doesn’t matter what happened.  I – We know who you are.  Don’t let Mizuki-sen – I mean Mizuki’s words get to you.”

Naruto stared at his friend for a long moment.  She had seen him mercilessly bring a man near to his death, ready and willing to strike the final blow.  She had looked into his eyes, eyes he knew had been wholly demonic and sinister.  She had seen, yet still looked past it, still saw Naruto instead of the beast he had become.  Iruka’s words echoed in his mind as he watched her blush deepen by the second.

_“Those people can’t see the real you, Naruto.  They can’t see past their bias and who they think you are.  You are only as good or bad as you decide to be.  It’s what you decide that matters, not what they think.”_

“Thanks, Hinata-chan,” he said finally, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.  He winced, but still smiled.  She turned several shades darker and looked down, causing Naruto to lift an eyebrow and wonder what he had said wrong.  After another mistake of a shrug, he leaned back and closed his eyes.  He chatted with Hinata about medical jutsus until he dozed off, leaving her to watch him with what might as well be permanently pink cheeks.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

A week later Naruto was released from the hospital.  He had been kept a few days after the medical-nins had deemed him dischargeable to ensure he was healed completely.  The staff was baffled at the speed at which he healed, though it didn’t keep them from giving him nasty looks on the way out.

All three had been interrogated by a frightening man named Ibiki, although the evidence was fairly conclusive that the chunin had been at fault.  Everybody seemed curious as to how the battle had ended, so they pinned the victory on the only one of them that had been standing at the end.  Sasuke had allegedly finished off Mizuki with an earth-style jutsu that had crushed the man more violently than intended.  In the end they were cleared to leave and hoped to never have to encounter the interrogator again.

He received a generally warm reception returning to the academy; even Shino approached him and nodded in acknowledgement.  Things returned to normal quickly, with the group falling into their normal routine but with renewed vigor.  Although Iruka insisted they had fought incredibly against three much higher ranked ninja, they were all determined to improve themselves in light of being beaten.  Naruto spent most of his time doing endurance training to further expand his chakra stores, and once or twice sought out Kakashi for information on how to better handle his clones during combat.

Before long winter had come and gone, leaving more seasoned eleven-year-olds in its wake.  Sasuke occasionally brought up Naruto’s transformation when they were alone, but eventually stopped asking after the last time the blond got upset over the issue.  He would find out one day, he was sure, and Naruto had given him space when he had needed it.

Since the incident Naruto had decided a change in wardrobe was in order.  He kept the indigo cloth wrap on his forehead, but he had outgrown most of his t-shirts and shorts by now.  Iruka had taken him shopping after he was released from the hospital to pick up new clothes.  More often than not Naruto could be seen sporting a dark grey shirt with a thick, black sleeveless coat that reached down to his shins, usually worn open in the front.  He kept the cargo shorts, only changing to color to one less bright, varying between black and dark blue.  He had been unsure of the change for a few days until he asked Hinata’s opinion; for some reason her stammering and blushing was enough confirmation for him.

Hinata seemed more and more stressed as their fifth year came to a close, though neither Sasuke nor Naruto could pinpoint why.  She never spoke of her personal life or family, so they were both left fairly clueless, not that Sasuke cared much to find out.  Naruto, though, fretted over it constantly, finally breaking it to Iruka on the first day of summer.

“Iruka-sensei, I can’t figure out why Hinata-chan is so . . . Weird lately.  She’s more stressed than usual and won’t tell me why.  She also looks redder than usual but she doesn’t have a fever.”  Iruka had a few guesses, but he allowed Naruto to continue his rant.  “And I don’t know why but it bothers me when she looks upset.  I mean it bothers me when Sasuke’s upset too, but he’s always sorta upset, but still it’s not the same.  I just want to fix it but I don’t know how and-”

“Naruto,” Iruka started with the smallest of devious smiles.  “You like Hinata, don’t you?”  Naruto blinked back at him and laughed, like it was a silly question.

“Of course I do, sensei; we’ve been friends for five years.  Are-”

“No, really listen to the question this time.  You.  Like Hinata.  Don’t you?”  He emphasized the words slowly, carefully.  It took much longer than he would have liked, but gradually Naruto’s face reddened and he wrinkled his nose.  _Yep._

“No way Iruka-sensei; she’s my best friend.  Well, one of my best friends.  I can’t _like_ my best friend like that.”  The idea was absolutely absurd to him.

“Why not?” The unanswerable question had stopped the boy dead in his tracks.  He was so adamant about his inability to think about Hinata that way, but had no idea why.

“Because – Because we’re just friends!  What does this have to do with Hinata-chan acting weird, sensei?”  He looked up at Iruka crossly, his face still a bit red.

“Oh maybe nothing.  Maybe everything, too.  I can’t say I know,” Iruka said mysteriously, giving Naruto a small nudge as he walked past.  For some reason Naruto felt even more confused and helpless than before.  Why did it matter if he liked Hinata?  Not that he did; they were just friends.  But . . . He sighed.  Just another thing to think about.  Maybe an answer would come during the summer some time.

It didn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, that one was harder to write than the others, but I got through it.
> 
> I took some creative liberties here, as well as some risks with my writing. I wanted to make the important scene in this chapter as detailed as I could and give everybody a bit of the spotlight. I had about a page and a half written for Naruto explaining his conversation with Mizuki to the rest and revealing the secret, but decided that was something for a later chapter.
> 
> [The stuff that was here I deleted 'cause it's not relevant anymore. TL;DR: I went on a cross-country bike tour a few days after this chapter was posted. Came back 5 weeks later.]


	5. Genin

_“Yes, Hokage-sama.  The Kyuubi’s chakra was sensed nearly fifty kilometers away from the point of origin, although it seemed to be a small flux.  To avoid panic a statement was released indicating that we were testing a powerful jutsu in Training Ground Ten that day.  Ibiki’s interrogation of the offending chunin revealed that they had attacked and provoked Uzumaki Naruto and his classmates.  It is also clear that Mizuki told the boy of his role as the Kyuubi’s vessel, though it is unclear whether or not the other two children were present for the explanation.  By their accounts it seems unlikely.”_

_“Thank you for the report.  You are dismissed.” The messenger bowed respectfully before departing, leaving the Sandaime and Iruka alone in the office once again.  It had been three days since the attempt on Naruto’s life, as well as the lives of his friends.  “How is he doing?” he asked tiredly, setting his signature pipe down with a sigh._

_“He’s recovering fast, thankfully.  He’s always seemed to heal from his injuries quickly; I hate to admit it, but the Kyuubi probably saved his life.  Nobody else could have survived in his condition.”  Iruka tried his hand at a laugh, but it came out hollow and unconvincing._

_“My advisors, as well as the village council,” Hiruzen began hesitantly, not sure if the information was appropriate to reveal to the instructor, “Have recommended that Naruto be detained until further notice.  They believe him to be a danger to the village.”_

_“That’s absurd!”  Iruka was on his feet without realizing it.  “By all accounts he was backed into a corner, and if he hadn’t used the demon’s chakra he would have died.  Not just him, but Hinata and Sasuke as well!  What kind of incompetent-“ The Sandaime held up a hand, a tiny smirk quirking at his lips._

_“I am of the same opinion, Iruka.  I would not allow Naruto to suffer for something out of his control, and especially not when his actions saved the lives of two other students.  I’m surprised that . . . Certain parties voted the way they did, in light of that information.”  A frown made the elderly Hokage seem even older than usual.  They both knew who it was that he referred to: Hyuga Hiashi.  “In any event, there was one action I could not prevent, nor did I object to.  While Naruto remains in Konoha he will be monitored by ANBU agents who have sealing capabilities, both to ensure his safety and to contain him should there be another incident.”  Iruka nodded; even if he didn’t like it, it was a reasonable demand._

_“Hokage-sama . . . I’m not sure what to do,” Iruka started, sounding worried and much less formal.  “If he knows about the Kyuubi now, I don’t know what he’ll think of me.  I’m not sure if I can talk to him about it if he asks.  And according to your law, now that he knows the truth he can tell anybody he pleases.”  To his surprise, the Sandaime chuckled and was just smiling at him, shaking his head._

_“Iruka, I’m glad you’re finding out what it is to be a parent.”  The chunin blinked before flushing slightly.  “The boy will have tough choices ahead, and now that he does know the truth things will only get harder for him.  It’s too late to wonder if the law of secrecy I imposed did more harm than good, but as his guardian you must decide what to do from here on out.  As a humble suggestion from an old man,” he continued with a twinkle in his eyes, “Just spend as much time with him as you can, while you can.”_

_Iruka thought over the Hokage’s words on the way back to the hospital, and nearly every day afterwards.  The time was quickly approaching when Naruto would become a genin, and then he and his friends would be off performing missions for the village with a new teacher.  This final year would be the last Iruka had, and he intended to take the Sandaime’s advice._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Sasuke sat alone on a bench in the afternoon sunlight, looking down at his repaired hand.  It had been almost a year since Mizuki had damaged it, and although it had healed completely long ago it served as a permanent reminder to him.  _I’m weak._   The thought caused his scowl to deepen and he clenched his fist.  _I’m weak.  I’ll never kill Itachi like this._ His brother had been a genius, of course, but it made no difference to him.  No matter how hard he trained, no matter the effort he put into it the fact remained: he needed to get stronger.

Naruto had insisted years before that he would kill Itachi eventually, the ‘right way’, but that way wasn’t fast enough.  Every day his rage inside seemed to grow, festering and spreading like a blight.  The only way to ignore it was to exert himself to exhaustion, but it only served as a distraction.  _I need more power, something . . . Like what Naruto has.  Why does he have it?  Where did it come from, and why is it a secret?_   Sasuke had thought about such things before, and it only brought about increased frustration.  It had also caused him to grow spiteful towards his friend.

“Yo, Sasuke!” The familiar voice hailed from Naruto, walking towards him with Hinata at his side, as usual.  “Something wrong?”  They stopped a few meters away, the blond’s hands moving to cup the back of his head like they often did when he was curious or embarrassed.

“Nothing really,” Sasuke replied, sounding a little annoyed even to himself.  “Just wondering if you want to tell us about your weird secret power yet.”  At the sight of Naruto’s grimace, he adopted a lighter tone.  “Look I know you don’t want to talk about it.  But if you can teach us how to-“

“I can’t,” Naruto responded flatly, looking off to the side uncomfortably.  “It’s not something . . . I was just born with it alright?  I didn’t ask for it.”  Sasuke could tell that he was trying not to get upset, but pushing the issue would eventually make his friend snap.  _Well, that answers that I guess.  Still . . ._

“Alright, whatever; sorry.”  Sasuke’s apology came off a touch insincere, though only Hinata seemed to notice.  She wouldn’t say anything, however.  “I just . . . I need to get stronger or I’ll never defeat Itachi.  That’s all.”  It was one of the rare times that the boy opened up to his friends, and they were not about to miss the opportunity.

“Sasuke, you’re better than either of us when it comes to offensive ninjutsu, your taijutsu is great, and none of us can compete when it comes to handling ranged weapons.”  Naruto’s encouraging response was instant, bouncing back from the gloomy topic like nothing had happened.  Everything he said was true as well, a notion echoed by Hinata.

“Ano . . . Iruka-sensei said that you’re better than most chunin with your shuriken control, Sasuke-san.  And besides us nobody in the class can beat you in sparring.  We’re not even genin yet . . .”  Unfortunately it was only her last words that Sasuke seemed to latch on to.

“It doesn’t matter what rank we are,” the Uchiha nearly growled, trying not to glare at the girl.  “And being the top of the class, better than chunin?  None of that matters.  Itachi was an ANBU captain by the time he was thirteen.  I’m . . . I’m nothing compared to him.”  If Naruto didn’t know better he could have sworn that he had seen tears in Sasuke’s eyes.

“Sasuke we-”

“Nevermind.  I have some things to take care of today so I can’t train.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”  Without waiting for a response he stood and leapt away, escaping over the treetops while his friends stood in silence, watching.

“I’m worried about him, Naruto-kun,” Hinata said quietly, fidgeting with the hem of her coat.  She jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder, looking up to find Naruto smiling in the way he always did to try to cheer her up.  The same grin also managed to summon a blush every time.

“Don’t worry, Hinata-chan.  You know how Sasuke can be.  Besides,” he continued, voice taking on a more serious tone, “I understand where he’s coming from, just like you do.  We just need to help him as best we can, and everything will work out, right?”  While his proximity made her a tad lightheaded, and his words were comforting in a way, she was doubtful.

“But . . . What if we don’t get put on the same team?  O-or what if I hold us back or-”  Hinata stopped mid-sentence, looking affronted and steadily turning a darker shade of pink.  Naruto was _laughing_ , and what’s worse he was laughing at her.  Tears started to well up before he waved both hands in front of him, breathing deeply and apologizing.

“Sorry, sorry!”  He brought both hands together in front of him as if begging her forgiveness.  “I didn’t mean to laugh, Hinata-chan, but I just think it’s funny that you think _you’d_ hold us back.”  Her distress slowly turned into confusion.  What was he talking about?  “Sasuke and I would be a mess without you here to help us with our chakra control, and without you to help us work on our speed we’d be years behind in taijutsu training.  We’ve been friends for five years, so you’d better take my word for it when I say you’re the best!”  Naruto’s broad grin faded when he saw that Hinata was _very_ red in the face, much more so than he ever remembered.  “Hey are you feeling okay?” he asked worriedly, hand rising to touch her forehead to check for a fever.  Hinata nearly fainted.

“I-I’m f-fine!” she stammered, shuffling back a few steps.  Her heel caught on a loose stone and she stumbled backwards with a squeak, her arms flailing for balance.  Naruto stepped forward quickly, catching her hand with an embarrassed look on his face.

“Sorry,” he said sincerely, a tint of red rising to his cheeks as he helped his friend regain her balance.  “C’mon, let’s head to Ichiraku’s before training.  Half priced ramen today!”  Before she could object – not that she wanted to – Naruto was dashing towards his favorite restaurant with Hinata in tow, her hand still grasped firmly in his own.  Her face was on fire the whole way, and Ayame’s incessant teasing did little to help the poor girl after they had arrived.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

“The teams have already been decided?” Kiba asked incredulously, Akamaru echoing his master’s concern with a few barks.  “We’re still months away from graduation!”

It was the middle of February, and Iruka had just made the announcement that teams were already mostly formed.  There were still thirty students in the class, but half of them had been replaced over the course of the nearly six years of study.  Only those truly fit to become ninja could graduate, and according to their teacher the process was sort of a formality anyway.  Those that still remained had what it took.

“That’s correct.  Assuming we have no dropouts and nobody fails the graduation exam, we will have ten 3-man teams.  You will be separated into groups that compliment your skills in some cases, and in others you will be placed in a team where you will be filling a specific role.  Before any of that, however, the potential for teamwork is first and foremost.  As genin you will begin taking on D-rank missions that carry little to no risk.  However, eventually you will go on C-rank – and on rare occasions B-rank – missions.  On these you will often find yourselves in situations where you must trust your team implicitly, and teamwork will be of the utmost importance.  A lack of trust and teamwork will kill you and your allies.”  Iruka allowed his statement to sink in for a moment before continuing.  His students had spent the last five years training and maturing; it was time to become adults.

“Sensei, when do we find out which team we’re on?”  The question came from Sakura, who seemed to be eyeing Sasuke worriedly.  Ino rolled her eyes at the pink-haired girl.

“Right after you graduate.  We will have one final day of class wherein you all will be assigned your teams and new instructors.  And before you ask,” he smirked, giving Sakura and Ino a wry look, “You may not request to be on anybody else’s team, nor are you allowed to change teams once you’re on one.  I expect you all to work hard with you assigned teams, understood?”  A chorus of ‘Yes, sensei’ brought a nod from Iruka, who then led them to the yard for weapons training.

“One day I’ll be able to manage a fuma shuriken like you, Sasuke,” Naruto sighed as his friend’s weapon sliced through the centers of three targets in an arch, looping around to embed itself into another only an arm’s length from Sasuke.  It seemed the Uchiha had a natural talent not only for fire techniques, but for controlling unconventional ninja tools as well.

“Just takes practice,” he grunted, not feeling the modesty that he communicated.  He had long since graduated the conventional kunai and shuriken that the rest of the class seemed stuck with; at least a handful – including his friends – had managed to become halfway proficient with a wider variety of weaponry.  “Anyway, you guys think we’ll be on a team together?”  He yanked the blade from its lodging point, flicking his wrist to fold it back before handing it to Naruto.

“You bet!” Naruto responded confidently, taking aim and flipping the weapon open again.  His throwing technique was good, but his aim was off.  The first target was hit cleanly, but the second only lost an arm, and the third was missed entirely.  He cursed and leapt to recover the shuriken in mid-air so that it wouldn’t pass right over their heads.  He caught it deftly in the center circle, muttering to himself as he dug it into the ground to stop the spinning.  “Maybe I’ll get better at this before then.”

“I think it’s . . . Likely,” Hinata offered, her nervous habit already showing itself.  “Iruka-sensei said we would be placed together based on teamwork, so I think . . . Probably . . .” She trailed off, the lack of confidence in her own statement causing her words to fail.  Sasuke just shrugged.  Naruto, however, continued his show of confidence.

“C’mon, who here has worked together as long as we have?”

“Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji have been together longer,” Sasuke pointed out, “I think their parents are all friends or something.  Kiba and Shino seem to get along . . . I think, and Sakura hangs around them sometimes.”

“Well, I bet they’ll be on teams together like we’ll be,” Naruto continued, unconcerned.  He tried his hand at another throw with similar results.  He scowled.  “I mean, even if we’re on different teams it’ll be okay, right?  Whenever we’re in town we’ll still meet up and train together and stuff.  Plus that’ll be three pretty strong teams, huh?”  His friends could tell that he was pushing the limits of his own optimism, but they didn’t interrupt.  It was hard to deflate Naruto’s enthusiasm, even if it was forced.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

“I have requested you be placed on a team with the Uchiha and the Aburame.  Their skills will supplement yours best.”  Hiashi’s icy gaze met the impassive features of his eldest daughter.  She had learned well over the years to keep emotion from her face.  He waited for her acknowledgement, but it didn’t come.  “Our family has great influence over the village, including the academy.”  Still nothing.  “You should be grateful for my benevolence on your behalf.”  Hinata had begun quivering very slightly.

“I-I want to stay with my friends . . .” she whispered, so meekly that Hiashi thought he must have imagined it.  He must have; Hinata would never dare question him.

“What did you say?” he asked in a falsely calm tone.  His rising fury betrayed the façade.

“I said I want to stay with my friends, father.”  Her voice was more solid now, confident.  “Both of them.”  Despite the iron will she had forced upon herself she dared not mention Naruto by name.  Her father was no fool, however.

It was not often her father displayed any emotion, even if he did seem to come across as perpetually harsh.  But his daughter, the heiress to the Hyuga clan, had just openly denied him.  The only time she had felt killing intent stronger had been in the woods with Naruto.

“Hyuga Hinata,” he stated slowly as he stood, stepping purposefully towards his kneeling daughter.  “For years I have invested in your training.”  Another step seemed to shake the floor.  “For years I have tried to rid you of your pathetic weaknesses.”  The entire room felt heavy now, and Hinata’s breathing quickened.  “For years I have held out for the day you would be worthy of your birthright.  And for what?”  In a single motion she was against the wall, pinned by a hand gripped about her throat.  She gasped and grabbed at his hand, feet desperately kicking against the wall, trying to find a foothold.  “You refuse my kindness.  You rebuke my advice.  You allow your younger sister to surpass you.  You are worthless.”  As if those words were the last he intended to speak to her, Hiashi tossed his coughing daughter to the ground, disgusted.  “Get out.”

“Naruto,” she choked, struggling to her feet.  Her father turned back to her, eyes widening in wonder.  Not only had she defied him, but she sought to speak out of her place also.  _What a waste of blood._

“What about the demon child?” he spat, eyes burning.

“H-he’s not . . . Like you said, father.”  Hinata cursed herself for not being stronger.  She wished she could defend her friend, the one person that gave her courage, that made her feel even the slightest bit comfortable being herself.  But she could barely string a sentence together in the presence of the clan leader.  Even if she was a failure, even if she didn’t deserve to be Naruto’s friend, she wouldn’t allow him to be looked down on like that.  Hiashi merely stood, stiff, staring down at _his_ daughter.

“I see the demon has gotten to you too, daughter,” he said coldly, sneering.  “That child should have been killed twelve years ago when . . .”  Hiashi ground his teeth, growling at nothing before sweeping out of the audience chamber, but not before one last contemptuous note.  “Until you prove yourself worthy of the Hyuga name, do not return to this compound.  Trash does not belong in my family.”

Hinata sat very still, unblinking, staring at the wall with tears flowing freely down her face.  She felt . . . Empty, like all of her being had just been taken from her.  Every dream and aspiration lay shattered on the floor in front of her.  Her father had finally disowned her completely.  Long ago Hanabi had been named the new successor as a result of Hinata’s failures, but never had she imagined Hiashi would cast her out.

Her mind was blank even as she wandered from the Hyuga estate, a chilled wind biting at her pale face.  It was a bitter, cold night.  Hinata wandered the streets aimlessly, as if searching for herself until dawn’s first light crested the walls of the Konoha.  Only then did reality set in; only then did she realize how alone she was.  Then the tears came, in a back alley near the center of village.  It felt like they might never stop.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

“Hinata-chan . . .” Naruto hesitated, glancing at Sasuke before looking back at her.  Her clothes were rumpled and dirty, and although neither of them would say it, she smelled like it had been days since her last proper bath.  Three days earlier she had come to class looking exhausted, her eyes red with dark circles underneath.  She had not said a word the entire day.  Since then it had been difficult to get even a nod out of the girl.  “I know I ask a lot, but are you okay?”  As usual, no response.  She just stared blankly at the desk in front of her.

“Naruto, Sasuke,” Iruka said sharply from below.  The two in question blinked and looked down at their instructor.  The class was empty; they had been dismissed for the day.  “Please head home.”  They both glanced down at Hinata, but after a hard look from Iruka they both muttered apologies and stalked off.  Naruto stopped at the doorway, biting his lip and looking from Iruka to Hinata twice before exiting quickly.

Iruka sighed, walking slowly to the desk one step down from theirs.  He sat slowly, scratching the back of his head.  “Hinata,” he started gently, not sure how to delicately navigate the topic.  “Will you tell me what’s going on, please?”  She remained silent, showing no sign that Iruka had even been heard.  “Hinata,” he said again clearly, a little louder.  Finally, he reached up prodded her right in the center of her forehead, enunciating each part of her name separately.  “Hi-na-ta.”

“Y-yes?”  Finally.  The girl looked confused, as if she had no idea how she had gotten there.

“Will you tell me what’s going on, please?”

“N-nothing, sensei.”  Hinata blinked several times blearily, looking even more tired now that she had been brought to.

“Hinata, your friends may not ask you because they don’t know how, but don’t try to lie to your teacher.  I’ve been getting to know you for nearly six years, too, and I can tell when one of my students hasn’t slept for days and looks like she’s been living on the streets.”  She quavered visibly, biting her lip.  “Now, I’ll only ask you one more time.  What’s going on?”  For a long moment she stared at him, tears brimming, and for a time he thought she might not answer.  Then, all at once, she burst into tears and began stammering, unable to form coherent sentences through it all.

Iruka awkwardly patted her shoulder, trying to calm her down.  Whatever he had expected from the normally reserved girl, it had not been this.  He waited to see if the flow would stop on its own before speaking gently.  “Hey now, calm down.  I’m not mad at you.  Just take it slow, and explain from the beginning, alright?”  As Hinata gradually calmed enough to begin her story, Iruka moved to sit next to her in Naruto’s usual seat.

The chunin had thought, at one time, that he could not have held greater distaste for Hyuga Hiashi.  He was sorely mistaken.  As Hinata stuttered through her heartbreaking tale, Iruka had to squeeze his hands together to prevent them from shaking.  He was ready to spit fire before she even filled him in on the last three days.

“You’ve been . . . Living on the streets for three nights?” he asked slowly, carefully; if he spoke to fast he was afraid that he might explode.  Her miserable nod confirmed this had been the case.  “Hinata why didn’t you tell anybody?”  She didn’t respond, and only seemed to shrink into her chair like she had some fear of being reprimanded.  Iruka shook his head; this wasn’t the way to help.  “Come on,” he sighed, clicking his tongue and standing up.  Hinata didn’t move.  She just sat there, looking up at him blankly.  “You’re coming home with me; I won’t have my student staying out on the streets.  You’re going to stay with me until I can find you a place on your own.”  Despite her weak protests, he managed to get her out of the classroom and following him slowly back to the apartment.

“S-sensei I c-can’t,” she murmured, sobs threatening to take her again.  “I’ll j-just be an i-inconvenience.  I’ll be t-trouble for you and I’m n-not worth-”

“You can, because I said so.  You’re not trouble, or an inconvenience, and you’re worth more than what your damn father thinks that’s for sure.”  The words had left his mouth before he could think about them, accompanied by an angry curse shortly thereafter.  Hinata’s eyes went wide, causing a few tears to streak down her dirtied cheeks.  “Sorry, Hinata,” he said softly, trying to smile.  “I promise, it’s alright.  Just do it as a favor to me, okay?”  Her eyes returned to the ground, and a full minute must have passed before she nodded.  As they walked in silence, Iruka seriously considered an attempt on Hiashi’s life like he had years before.

As the door clicked closed behind them, Naruto came trotting around the corner.  When he spotted Hinata his eyes went wide, the broadest grin appearing on his face.  As his mouth opened to say something, however, Iruka held up his hand and shook his head.  The boy blinked, glancing from the obviously downtrodden girl back to his teacher.  He nodded slowly, backing up to let them pass.

In short order Iruka had drawn a hot bath and handed Hinata a towel and the smallest change of clothes he could find, likely some of Naruto’s old garments.  She merely nodded the whole time, staring at the floor.  For a while after her teacher left she stood by the closed door, mind working slowly through what he had said.  But she was too tired to work through it; her body ached, her eyes hurt, and everything felt fuzzy.  Worst of all, she still felt empty.

Nearly an hour later she emerged from the bathroom, cleansed of all but the worst of her grime.  But such mire took more than a bath to purify.  Some time later Iruka found her standing there, not sure where to go or what to do.  He gently coaxed her to a simple, clean bedroom and said something she couldn’t understand.  Something about sleeping, maybe, and Naruto had been mentioned somewhere.  All her mind registered was the bed, onto which she crawled as soon as the door was closed.

After three days of no sleep; three days of emotional strain and pain; three days of waking nightmares; three days of repeating her father’s words over and over in her head; three days of crying for hours on end; three days of contemplating things no person should ever have to consider; after three long days, Hinata slept.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

Everything felt oddly warm and soft, and for a long time Hinata stayed very still, not wanting to open her eyes and bring the respite to an end.  It took quite a while for her to realize she was neither at the Hyuga estate, nor somewhere outside.  The realization caused her eyes to snap open with a soft gasp.  A rush of muddled memories flooded in, and she sat up with a start, eyes looking wildly around the room.  Where . . .?

It was still dark outside, the light from a crescent moon trickling into the small bedroom through a window across the room.  Hinata bit her lip, remembering vaguely that Iruka had brought her back to his home and had her clean up before giving her the bedroom.  _I can’t believe I let myself be such an inconvenience . . ._ she thought miserably, burying her face in her knees and trying not to cry again.  _All I do is cry and get in the way.  I should leave before . . ._ She blinked, realizing the clothes she had on were not her own, but they seemed strangely familiar.  _Naruto-kun’s . . . ?_   Her feeling of shame quickly turned into embarrassment, cheeks flushing at the realization that she now wore a pair of baggie tan cargo shorts and a loose grey t-shirt, the same clothes Naruto had worn up until the year before.

Hinata gathered herself mentally, taking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly.  _I’ll just leave a note and some money for Iruka-sensei for taking care of me.  I can’t stay here._   With that thought placed firmly in her mind, she swept her feet off the side of the bed, prepared to stand.  She blinked, eyes drawn to the bedside table.  A plate of onigiri sat next to the reading light, with a note leaned against it containing Iruka’s handwriting.

_“Naruto thought you might be hungry when you woke up, so we made these for you.  Itadakimasu!”_

She couldn’t hold back the tears anymore.  A fresh wave hit her hard and she curled back up on the bed, not knowing what to do with herself.  But these tears felt . . . Different.  For some reason she didn’t feel sad or hurt, but strangely . . . Warm?  It was a difficult sensation to grapple with.  Crying was an action she was used to, but this felt different for some reason, almost like it was good.

After a few minutes of getting ahold of herself again, Hinata sat back up, wiping tears from her face.  Her stomach grumbled and she looked at the plate again, feeling guilty.  But Iruka had made it for her, and she might feel worse for not eating it.  Another grumble convinced her.

The door opened quietly, for which Hinata was grateful.  She glanced worriedly both ways down the hall, biting her lip again before stepping out silently.  The apartment was small but clean, and very neat.  It took only a few seconds to find the front door; from there all she needed was a pencil and paper.  As she passed by the living room, however, she froze, eyes going wide as she realized the one thing she had neglected to consider.  She had even seen his name right in front of her and not registered it.  Naruto lived with Iruka.

Naruto’s back was to her as he continued his very early morning exercises, doing pull-ups on a bar hanging from the ceiling.  He must have been distracted by something, or just very into his workout, because it took him a while to notice Hinata’s presence.  Her face was a mixture of shock, embarrassment, and fear, and it was already several shades of red into its coloring.  It was bad enough that she was _in Naruto’s living room_ , but she was now watching him exercise like some stalker.  The fact that he wasn’t wearing a shirt didn’t help much, either.

When he did finally realize she was there, he blinked, letting himself drop to the ground.  As he turned the first thing she noticed was his broad smile, as welcoming and friendly as it always was.

“Morning, Hinata-chan,” he whispered loudly, picking up a towel to wipe away the accumulated sweat.  He had apparently been at it for a while.  “I hope you slept okay; my bed can be kinda uncomfortable.”  Naruto grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck with one hand.  It was then that Hinata noticed the makeshift bedding that had been set up on the couch, along with a pile of clothes that could only belong to Naruto sitting nearby.

“A-ano,” she stammered, fingers already pressing together, “Y-your bed, Naruto-kun?”  He shrugged and sat down on the couch, pulling a shirt over his head before responding.

“Iruka-sensei said you needed to rest ‘cause you were really tired, so I moved my stuff out of my room so you could sleep better.”  He blinked as Hinata looked like she was about to cry, a few sniffs coming about before Naruto jumped up and waved his hands in front of him.  “No no, it’s really okay.  Iruka-sensei’s couch is really comfortable, and I always exercise here in the morning anyway, and-” He was cut off as Hinata collided with him, knocking him back onto the couch with a soft grunt.

For a very long moment Naruto sat very still, both incredibly confused and unbelievably awkward.  Hinata’s face was buried in his chest, her fingers clutching at the fabric of his shirt.  She was shuddering and, thinking his friend was cold, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders; he had seen somebody do that once.  A very warm feeling sprung up in his chest, and his face felt a little hot.  “Er, Hinata-chan-”  She shook her head against his chest, and he stopped.  What was he supposed to do?  Iruka hadn’t said anything about this when he explained things about girls.  Finally, to his great relief, Hinata spoke, though it was so quiet he had to lean down a little to hear.

“I-I’m sorry, Naruto-kun,” she sniffed, her voice muffled by his shirt.  Despite the burning shame and terrible feeling of inadequacy she felt, it felt nice to just be there.  She wanted to talk about how she was feeling, and why she was crying, and many things, but the words wouldn’t come.  Part of it had to do with her own confusion; so much had happened in such a short time, and Iruka and Naruto were being so kind to her.  It was too much to process.

“You don’t have to be sorry, Hinata-chan,” Naruto said quietly, sounding strangely somber rather than his usual elated self.  He didn’t even seem uncomfortable or awkward.  Hinata wanted to raise her head, but she didn’t think herself capable of meeting his gaze.  “Iruka-sensei wouldn’t tell me what happened, but I knew something was wrong for a few days.  You don’t have to tell me,” he continued quickly, as if worried he might have offended her.  “But you can stay here as long as you want to; Iruka-sensei said it was okay.  I really don’t mind sleeping on the couch.  I promise!”

“I’ll just be a burden . . .” she mumbled, fingers tightening on his shirt.

“No you won’t.” Naruto said with such confidence that it caused her to finally raise her head, red-rimmed eyes examining his bright blues.  He wasn’t lying.  Something her father had drilled in his children over the years was the ability to read people, and although Naruto rarely deceived anybody, she had trouble accepting his straight honesty.  Her confused expression drew a smirk from the boy.  “Why would you think that?  Iruka-sensei invited you here and said you can stay, which means you’re welcome here, and he must want you here right?  And I want you here too, Hinata-chan.”  He was just telling the truth, but for some reason it made him feel squirmy inside his stomach.

Hinata blinked several times, processing what Naruto had just told her in what felt like slow motion.  _Welcome here._   The notion was alien to her.  _Wanted here.  Naruto-kun wants me here._   The color slowly began to creep into her cheeks.  It felt wrong.  The last time she had felt welcome or wanted anywhere was with her mother, who had long since passed away.  Since then only self-doubt and failure had been her company.  But now . . . She didn’t dare allow herself to step fully through the door of hope.  But maybe just taking a look through wouldn’t be too bad.

She lowered her head back to his chest before he could ask if she was feeling okay again.  A slow, silent nod indicated that she understood.  And then came the awkward silence.  A few minutes eventually turned into half an hour of quiet, and while Naruto gradually got more comfortable with the situation, reality sank in for Hinata over time.  If Iruka had not walked in to the living room when he did, she was fairly positive that she would have exploded.

“Good morning you two,” he yawned.  The smallest mischievous smirk twitched his lips as Hinata sprang away from her friend, ending up next to him staring at the floor.  Her face was so completely red that Iruka couldn’t even bring himself to tease them.  “Naruto can you come help me make breakfast?  We’re going to have omelets with rice and salmon today,” he remarked cheerily.  He turned to leave towards the kitchen, but as he reached the threshold Hinata’s voice stopped him.

“A-ano,” she started, on her feet as Iruka turned back.  Hinata placed her arms at her sides and bowed, eyes squeezed closed and trying to get rid of the terrible flush.  “Thank you for welcoming me into your home, Iruka-sensei,” she said with surprising clarity.  Formalities were deeply ingrained in her from youth, largely thanks to her status.  “I will work hard to earn my keep and find a place to stay as soon as I can.  Thank you,” she repeated before straightening, looking awkward and out of place.

“Ah,” Iruka began, slightly taken aback.  He wasn’t used to such formalities or what he considered to be flattering.  “No need to thank me, Hinata.  You can stay here as long as you need to, so don’t worry about it.”  She blinked at him but nodded, looking back at the floor and clutching the fringe of her shirt, which reminded him . . . “Oh, and your clothes are clean and folded in the linen closet in the hall.  We’ll get you some more this weekend.”  With that he left the living room, whistling to himself as he began preparations for breakfast.

Naruto stood and started to follow, stopping next to Hinata and nudging her with his elbow, making her jump a little.  He grinned and put his hands behind his head.  “You can come help with breakfast after you change, if you want.  Iruka-sensei said I have to learn how to cook, but I’m not very good at it.”  He made a face before trotting after their teacher, leaving Hinata to stare after them.  More of those strange ‘good tears’ welled up, but she pushed them down, determined to make herself useful rather than feel sorry for herself.

Hinata quickly located and changed into her normal clothes, chastising herself for making Iruka go out of his way to wash them for her.  Despite her will to help, however, as she approached the kitchen she slowed, plagued with self-doubt.  _I shouldn’t get in their way.  I’ll just . . ._

“Can you help me with cooking the salmon and setting the table, Hinata?” Iruka asked kindly, giving her an encouraging smile, looking for all the world like a bigger version of Naruto.  It made her wonder if her friend had inherited that smile.  She nodded quickly, hurrying to help as her teacher had requested.  He and Naruto bantered nearly the entire time, their antics making even Hinata smile a little; she surprised herself by giggling once when Naruto did a particularly ‘interesting’ imitation of the Hokage.

Naruto shot Iruka a quick grin while Hinata wasn’t looking.  His instructor winked back.  Things would turn out okay, eventually.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

“Ready for the exam?” Iruka asked as they walked towards the academy.  It had been three months since Hinata had moved in, and although she was still quiet as ever, the girl seemed much less anxious these days.  She walked a little straighter, made eye contact with her peers more often, and even spoke with less of a stutter.  Iruka wasn’t willing to take much credit for any of it, though; as far as he was concerned, just getting away from the Hyuga estate had helped Hinata more than anything he could have done.

“Yes, sensei,” they both chimed, glancing at one another immediately after.  Naruto grinned, and Hinata smiled demurely.  Iruka raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment further.  Those two had also grown closer in their friendship after living in close proximity for so long.  Naruto still seemed a bit clueless about Hinata’s feelings for him, but that was alright.  He might realize it eventually.  Or possibly not.

It was the day of their final test, and although this would be the deciding moment for all of them nobody seemed nervous.  According to Iruka, though, those that remained were pretty much guaranteed to pass, and every one of them had mastered the three required jutsu.  All of them had proven to be proficient with a variety of ninja tools.  In their final year they had studied genjutsu and how to recognize it, though no practical test would be administered.  In the end, the students weren’t nervous because they had passed the most difficult part of the exam: surviving for six years at the academy.

One by one they were called into a small side room that held Iruka, another proctor, and a table on top of which thirty forehead protectors – hitai-ate – sat.  Each had a metal guard engraved with the symbol of a Konoha shinobi and were to be presented to a student when they passed the test.

Of the three friends, Sasuke was called in first.  Looking as unconcerned as always, he more or less ignored Naruto’s cheer for him to ‘kick some ass’ and Hinata’s small smile.  He knew he would pass, as did the rest of the class.  And, as expected, he returned minutes later wearing his new headband.

“What a joke,” he muttered as he sat back down, leaning on the desk and staring out the window.  Hinata glanced at Naruto, looking a bit worried, though more for their friend’s state of mind than the upcoming test.

“Hyuga Hinata,” the proctor called, making her jump and swallow.  When she looked back to Naruto, he gave her a big smile and placed a hand on her arm.  Hinata was fairly sure that he could do that a dozen times a day and she would still flush every time.  She nodded and smiled back before standing and making her way to the testing room.  Although she became fairly nervous standing in front of the instructors, Iruka’s confident nod eased the tension somewhat.

A short time later, Hinata emerged from the room as well, her hitai-ate tied around her neck.  She tried not to appear overtly pleased or accomplished; Sasuke had been right, in a way.  They had learned the jutsus years before, after all.  Naruto, though, was ecstatic enough for both of them, giving a rousing cheer and a thumbs-up as soon as she came through the door.  Hinata rushed back to her seat so that the rest of the class couldn’t get an eyeful of her reddened features.

“Uzumaki Naruto.”  The boy nearly jumped out of his seat in excitement.  This was it: his first step to becoming Hokage.  It may not mean much to the rest of his classmates, but he had worked hard over the last six years to accomplish his first ‘smaller goal’ on the road to Hokage.  He bounded down the stairs, turning just before exiting the room to give Hinata and Sasuke another thumbs-up.  She did her best to give an encouraging smile and nod, while the Uchiha merely glared at nothing outside.

“Alright, Naruto, this should be quick.  Please perform a Henge no Jutsu; you can transform into anything you’d like.”  Iruka nodded at his fellow chunin’s words, waiting for his student.

“Yes, sensei.  Henge no Jutsu,” he said clearly.  A puff of smoke enveloped him for a moment before revealing a perfect copy of Iruka standing in front of them, holding up two fingers and grinning broadly.

“Very good.  Next, Kawarimi no Jutsu please.” Naruto nodded again, disappearing in a puff of smoke, a section of a log falling to the ground with a dull thud where he had just been standing.  Iruka and the proctor glanced around before noticing the blond standing behind them.  “Very good.  Lastly, perform the Bunshin no Jutsu, please.”

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu,” Naruto murmured, making sure to focus only enough chakra to form one clone.  The copy appeared next to him, scratching the back of his head and looking a little bored.  The proctor seemed impressed, but not quite enthusiastic.

“I don’t mean to split hairs here, but as impressive as a Kage Bunshin is at your age, the test requires you perform the Bunshin no Jutsu to pass,” the stranger began, though Iruka cut in before he could continue the objection.

“Actually, the rules of the exam state that _a_ bunshin must be procured.  A Kage Bunshin falls into that category.  Not to mention the latter jutsu is much more useful than a simple bunshin.”  Iruka smiled sweetly at the other proctor, who grunted and tried not to openly show contempt for Naruto.

“Alright, good enough.  You pass; get a forehead protector and go back to your seat.”  He marked something on his clipboard as Naruto approached the table, muttering something under his breath about cheating.

“Congratulations, Naruto,” Iruka smiled, holding the hitai-ite towards his student with no small amount of pride showing.  “You’ve earned it.”  If Naruto’s grin was any bigger his cheeks might have torn.  He took the headband reverently, looking at it for a moment before lifting it to his forehead, tying it over the ever-present indigo wrap.

This was it; he was finally a genin.  Despite what everybody else had said, he had done it.  He tried to control his gait as he left the testing chamber, but was running by the time he made it to the classroom door.  He burst in just as Sakura was making her way down the stairs to take her exam; the glare she afforded him could not put a damper on his mood in the least.

“Yeah!” he cheered, making half the class jump before glowering at the noise that Naruto was making.  He didn’t care, though.  In one leap he made it to the top row, lifting Hinata from her chair and into a tight hug despite her alarmed sounds of protest.  He put her down quickly, still smiling, but a bit more subdued now that he had gotten it out of his system.  He turned to Sasuke and extended his fist, hoping for a returned gesture.  The dark-haired boy eyed the hand dubiously before sighing, lifting his fist to bump his knuckles with Naruto unenthusiastically.  That seemed to be enough for Naruto, however, as he sat back down afterwards and seemed to be radiating joy.

After the last student returned from their test, the room went silent as Iruka entered with a stack of papers.  “Alright everyone.  Congratulations on passing your exams, but as I’ve said before things will only get harder from here.  You are all still new genin, and have much to learn.  I have compiled the team lists and will now reveal the team assignments.”  Every student in the room had their eyes trained on their instructor, knowing that his decisions would shape their futures.  Iruka paused for dramatic effect, smirking only slightly as he watched a few lean in.  Ino and Sakura looked to be on the edge of their seats.  For once Naruto seemed almost as nonchalant as Sasuke, though Hinata’s index fingers were now pressed together, indicating her worry.

The first six teams were assigned in short order; nobody seemed too surprised or unhappy with the results.  As Iruka had said months before, there were many factors behind putting a team together, and even if his decisions were unexpected they would be respected nonetheless.  Finally, he started on the seventh team.

“Next, the seventh group.” Most of the remaining students – with the exception of the aforementioned two girls – seemed either uninterested or unworried, so his delays meant little now.  “Uzumaki Naruto,” he started, remaining perfectly casual as the blond boy perked up.  “Uchiha Sasuke.”  As his name was called Sasuke barely moved, fingers folded in front of him as he stared at Iruka.  It was obvious to the entire class who the third member of their team would be, but Naruto still sat on the edge of his seat, and Hinata closed her eyes and offered a silent prayer.  “Hyuga Hinata.”  She breathed a sigh of relief, and Naruto jumped up to celebrate again.

Kiba, Shino, and Sakura were placed on a team together, as were Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji as teams eight and ten respectively.  Ino and Sakura immediately lamented not being placed with their ‘beloved Sasuke-kun’, while the rest seemed comfortable enough with the choices.  After letting them converse for a moment, Iruka drew their attention back to him.

“Your new jonin instructors will be here at noon, and from then on you will be under their tutelage.  I expect you to give them the same respect you have afforded me these past years.  Best of luck, genin.  Class dismissed!”  Iruka smiled as his students dispersed, most moving to their new groups to get acquainted – if they were not already – over lunch.  He watched them go silently, giving Naruto and his friends a small wave as they exited, which two of them returned.

_You’re all adults now.  Best of luck Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke._

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

“I wonder if the rest of the instructors are late, too,” Naruto pondered, leaning back in his seat between Hinata and Sasuke.  They had been waiting since before noon, and it had been nearly a half an hour since then already.  He hoped that their teacher wouldn’t be lazy.

“Sorry I’m late,” a familiar voice droned.  All three looked around, blinking, before noticing the man sitting in the desk just behind them.  He was tall, with his forehead protector lowered over one eye, and he wore a dark blue mask that covered everything below the bridge of his nose.  His silver hair was spiked up and to the side, and despite its ostentatious appearance one might correctly assume that it actually grew that way.  His overall attitude seemed bored, or at the very least overly relaxed.

“Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto gasped.  He had promised himself – and Iruka – that he would be respectful, but seeing the man that had taught him his favorite jutsu had caught him off guard.  Not to mention, without him Naruto would never have been able to pass the genin exam.

“Hm, you look kind of familiar.  Where’ve I seen you before . . .?”  It was unclear if the man was being difficult or if he actually had forgotten the boy.  Seeing as Naruto was a bit too infamous to forget, they bet on the prior.  After feigning a struggle to recall, Kakashi shrugged.  “Oh well.  Let’s head outside to make our introductions.”

After settling on a terraced balcony, Kakashi leaning against the railing while his new students sat on the steps, he addressed them a little more formally.  “My name is Hatake Kakashi.  I understand that you three go pretty far back, so we can skip part of the introduction.  But just for my benefit, I’d like your names, hobbies, and your highest aspiration.  If you’d like to start, Mr. Spiky-blond.”  Naruto made a face, but obliged with a smirk.

“Uzumaki Naruto.  My hobbies are training and trying different kinds of ramen at Ichiraku’s.  My dream is to be Hokage one day; I’ll be the best there ever was!”  Kakashi quirked an eyebrow.  _Well, that’s one you don’t hear often.  Understandable for a kid in his situation, though._

“Hyuga Hinata.”  At their teacher’s nod she had continued the introductions, fighting not to let her self-consciousness get the better of her.  “Ano, I enjoy pressing flowers and training to get stronger.  My dream is . . .”  She stopped there, blinking at Kakashi.  What was her dream?  “I-I’m not sure, Kakashi-sensei.”  Hinata bowed her head, embarrassed, staring at the ground.  Again Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

“I suppose your dream can be to find a dream to work towards,” he commented wryly before turning to the last member.  Uchiha Sasuke.  He was the reason that Kakashi had been assigned to the team.  “Last one.”

“Uchiha Sasuke.  Outside of training my hobbies aren’t of much interest.  My ambition is to kill a certain someone.”  His tone was flat, eyes hard.  There was no doubt who he was referring to, and in that moment Kakashi had no doubt of his will to succeed in that endeavor.

“Well, it’s nice to see some diversity in my team.  Now, on to business.”  He pushed off of the railing, stretching with a sigh.  “Iruka-sensei was not allowed to share this information with you, but now that you’re assigned a team it’s time you learned.  None of you are genin yet.”  As usual, three pairs of eyes blinked, confused.

“What do you mean sensei?  We just passed our test,” Naruto started, sounding not only perplexed but a little annoyed.

“The test is only meant to find out if you’re able to become genin.  Each jonin has the final say as to whether or not their students actually earn the title.  By the end of this week, only three teams will remain from the original ten.  The students that fail their new instructor’s test will return to the academy.  Any questions so far?”

Naruto and Hinata sat in stunned silence, while Sasuke merely glared.  None of them dared ask if he was serious; Kakashi didn’t seem like the type to joke around.  Finally, Naruto spoke up, though it was not what any of them expected to hear.  “Only two other teams, Kakashi-sensei,” he corrected, smirking confidently.  “Since we’re definitely going to pass.”  Sasuke didn’t move, but after a moment Hinata nodded, trying her best to show even a semblance of the confidence that her friend held.

“Hm, we’ll see about that.  Meet me at the third training ground at five, tomorrow morning.  Our test is going to be survival training.”  He waved and started to walk off, though turned just before reaching the edge of the balcony.  “Oh, and don’t eat any breakfast.  Trust me; you won’t want to.”  His one visible eye squinted in a way that made them think he was smiling before he was gone in a cloud of white smoke.

“Ahg!” Naruto groaned, falling onto his back.  “Why’d we have to get the crazy instructor?” he sighed, scowling up at the clouds.  “From the way he talks it’s like he _wants_ to fail us.”

“Ano . . . I think we’ll do okay,” Hinata offered timidly, not really feeling her own statement’s attempted assurance.  “We’re already a good team, right?”  They had begun practicing some maneuvers that year, at Iruka’s suggestion.  It had not been required for their grades, but he had mentioned it to the class as something to be prepared for.

“Hinata’s right,” Sasuke grunted, already walking off.  “We’ve been training together for years.  It won’t be a problem.”  Just like that he was gone, apparently as unconcerned as he had been that morning about the genin exam.  Naruto couldn’t help but smile at his friends; Sasuke had gotten a lot more callous over the years, but he was still one of them.

“Yeah, you guys are right.  C’mon Hinata; let’s go try some more tree climbing.  I think I’ve almost got the technique down!  Can we try walking on the river after that?  I really want to . . .”  Naruto continued to chatter away as they walked together to their usual training spot.  His demeanor calmed Hinata down some, like it always did, and the one-sided conversation never seemed to bother her.  She suppressed a small smile; they would be fine after all.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

“Sensei, you’re late again,” Naruto teased half-heartedly.  His team had arrived on time that morning, and it seemed none of them had eaten breakfast as directed.  Two hours had passed before Kakashi showed up, making a lame excuse about a cat crossing his path.

“Sorry again, you three.  Now then, you all remembered to skip breakfast?”  They all nodded, Naruto with a little resentment showing through.  “Good.  Now I can explain our exercise for the day.”  He pulled out an alarm clock and set it on one of three log posts in the middle of the clearing.  He then pulled out two bells and held them up so that they were clearly visible.

“You have until noon to get these bells from me.  Whoever fails to get a bell will not be given lunch, and will also fail my test.”  Naruto only glowered more, but Hinata simply blinked before offering an observation.

“Sensei, there are only two bells.”  Kakashi seemed to smile at the comment, which made her a bit uncomfortable.

“That is correct.  Only two of you will be able to pass my test, and the third will return to the academy.”  He waited for Naruto to stop protesting and ignored Hinata’s hurt expression.  “It’s also possible that none of you will pass the test, meaning all three might return to the academy.  So let me be very clear,” he said calmly, tone silencing their objections.  “I expect you to use any means necessary to get these from me, including deadly force.”  Without waiting for them to interject, he hit the top of the clock, setting the alarm for noon.  “Ready?  Begin!”

Sasuke and Hinata all but vanished into the woods surrounding the clearing, but to their surprise – and the quirked eyebrow of Kakashi – Naruto remained standing at the center of the clearing.  He was looking at their instructor dubiously, trying to work out what was going on.  Something told him that this was off.

“I don’t believe you,” he said finally, folding his arms.  Kakashi blinked his eye, head cocked slightly to the side as he decided what to make of this brash youth.  “There’s no way they’d let you send just one of us back to the academy.  That doesn’t make any sense.  Iruka-sensei said that teams were always in threes with one jonin instructor.”

“You’re no longer at the academy, Naruto.  I make the rules here, and if I tell you that you are going back to the academy, you are.”  Kakashi stared back at Naruto lazily, fastening the two bells loosely on his belt.  The boy clenched his fists, mind working through his options, before he vanished in a blur to join his comrades.

“What do we do?” Hinata asked in a worried whisper, eyeing Kakashi through a gap in the trees.  They had all suppressed their chakra so that it would be harder to sense them, something she had taught the other two how to do over the years.

“We need to focus on getting those bells, then we can figure it out,” Sasuke said quietly, taking in the surroundings.  Naruto nodded, but still seemed upset and distracted.  “We’ll just run through our formations and maneuvers like we practiced.  Remember: don’t hesitate to use force, like he said.  If he wants us to really go for them we will, got it?”  They nodded again.  Hinata activated her Byakugan and took a deep breath while her teammates got into position.  She would worry about consequences later.

Kakashi had drawn a small book from his belt pouch, a clearly adult-themed novel judging by the cover.  Despite his relaxed appearance he was completely tuned in to his surroundings, waiting and calculating as he sensed the genin moving closer.  _Hm, one behind, one above, one at a distance.  At least they’re working together._

“Doton: Earth Rupture!”  Hinata’s jutsu crushed the ground below him, catching his feet as a fist of shuriken came flying from the side.  Everything worked as he had anticipated, however.  The weapons struck him directly, but a moment later he appeared behind Sasuke, the impaled log replacement clattering to the ground.

“Too slow,” he muttered, hand already striking at the back of the boy’s head.  Except . . . He wasn’t too slow.  Sasuke had twisted at the last second, spinning for a hard kick as if he had expected Kakashi to appear there.  The jonin was forced to block, genuine surprise written on his hidden features.  But he had no time for being impressed.

He shoved Sasuke away, thrusting his book back into the back pocket.  “Alright, no Flirting Paradise then,” he sighed, readying himself for the next attack.  He had yet to see Naruto, but he could feel the boy’s chakra signature . . . Everywhere.  _Guess I got distracted.  But this is . . . Impressive._   A horde of Narutos had surrounded the clearing, all brandishing kunai and grinning at the jonin.  _Even I couldn’t make this many.  I guess the reports about him were true._

The clones were not incredibly coordinated, but they did show a surprising amount of sentience and awareness.  As they charged they came in formations, executing maneuvers in an attempt to back Kakashi towards the nearby river.  It was a simple ploy to see through, and Kakashi instead fought the clones towards the three stumps.  In no time they were all but cleared, only a handful left looking more than a little frustrated.

“Come now, you’re going to have to try harder than-” The jonin was cut off as a fireball blasted from above him, forcing a dodge right into the path of a fuma shuriken.  Kakashi was not considered a legendary ninja for no reason, however.  Rather than dodge, he caught the weapon deftly, tossing it back into the woods where he sensed Sasuke’s chakra.  However, a second shuriken was only a few meters from him already, having been hidden in the shadow of its predecessor.  _Ah, the Shadow Shuriken technique; the Uchiha boy shows some promise._   Things did not go as expected as he reached for the next, however.

Hinata had moved so fast that even he had a hard time tracking her movement.  The girl bent forward calmly, allowing the weapon to pass mere centimeters from her head and into Kakashi’s outstretched hand.  Her hand was already outstretched, the tips of her fingers almost closed around one of the bells.  _Crap!_   He withdrew his hand at the last second and bent backwards, effectively drawing his belt out of reach and allowing the shuriken to fly over him instead.  He pushed off of the ground hard, vaulting into the air and taking a moment to take in their positions.  _These kids mean business; it hasn’t even been an hour yet._   Then he blinked, and looked down.

Naruto was falling away from him towards the ground, grinning broadly, both bells held between his fingers.  _When did he . . .?_   Kakashi realized how he had been tricked a moment later, smacking himself in the forehead as he landed.  “You transformed one of your clones into the other shuriken, knowing that Hinata’s attack would force me to dodge.  Where did you three learn that?”  Naruto looked overly pleased with himself, while Sasuke just smirked and Hinata blushed deeply.

“We thought it up,” Naruto proclaimed proudly, dangling the two bells from his fingertips.  “Sasuke’s really good with shuriken, and he taught himself the Kage Shuriken no Jutsu.  Since I can make a lot of Kage Bunshin, it’s easy to transform myself into a fuma shuriken without anyone noticing.  Hinata’s faster than both of us, so it was only natural she be the one to engage the target directly.”  He said it so matter-of-factly that Kakashi couldn’t help but shake his head and admit defeat.

“Well, I guess you won this round.  But remember, only two of you can pass,” he reminded them, and suddenly Sasuke’s scowl returned, followed closely by Hinata’s uncomfortable expression.

“Yeah I know,” Naruto said nonchalantly, tossing a bell to each side.  His friends caught them automatically and stood staring at him, Sasuke looking nonplussed and Hinata horrified.  “You can pass them, and I’ll go back to the academy.”

“Naruto-kun!” Hinata breathed, tears already welling in her eyes.  “You can’t; you need-”

“Hinata’s right, Naruto,” Sasuke said with a shrug, tossing his bell on the ground at Kakashi’s feet.  “We’re not going to let you go back to the academy by yourself.  If you go, I’m going back too.”  His hands were already in his pockets, eyes on their instructor.  He didn’t seem the least bit concerned.

“Guys c’mon,” Naruto laughed, looking from one to the other.  “The final exam is easy; I can just take it again next year.  No reason for you two to miss a year of experience if you don’t have to.”  Hinata shook her head, in full agreement with Sasuke.  She stepped forward, handing her bell to Kakashi with a polite bow before stepping back to her friends.

“Together, or not at all,” she said quietly, fidgeting with her coat but looking determined.  She rarely did anything with full confidence, but this was one time in her life she was very sure of herself.  Being separated from Naruto was not an option.

During the ordeal Kakashi had watched silently, marveling at the phenomenon occurring before him.  “I suppose there’s a first time for everything,” he sighed, scratching the back of his neck as if embarrassed.  After a moment he smiled – or it looked like he was smiling, anyway.  “You all pass.”  They blinked, as stunned as he had expected.

“Er, what, Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto asked bluntly, unsure how they had gone from all failing to passing in an instant.

“I said that you all pass.  This test was a test of your teamwork, not your combat or survival skills.”  They were blinking again, though it was Sasuke who questioned him this time.

“If it was a test of our teamwork, why didn’t you pass us when Naruto got the bells from you?”

“Accomplishing your mission objective is important, you’re right,” Kakashi relented, a twinkle appearing in his visible eye.  “Some might even argue that it’s the most important part of being a ninja.  However,” he continued, leaning down so he could meet their eyes directly.  “It’s important to follow the rules of our village – and especially my rules if I’m your teacher.  However, there’s a saying that goes along with that: ‘Those who break the rules are scum.  But those that don’t take care of their friends are even worse than scum.’  While I didn’t get to properly demonstrate the first part of that saying, you three have proven that you care about one another.  You were all willing to return to the academy together so that you could remain a team, and for that, you passed.”  It took a moment for everything to register, but they got the message.  Sasuke let out a haughty ‘hmph’ while Hinata blushed and stared at the ground, pushing her index fingers together.  Naruto simply cheered, looking quite the opposite of the serious youth that had challenged Kakashi on his rule earlier.

_Hm, this will be an interesting adventure with these three._

And just like that, Team Seven was formed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And just like that, the longest chapter I’ve written yet. Whew.
> 
> Thanks again to my beta, Rhi. Pity her, for she had to read over 11k+ words and correct for grammar and content. <3
> 
> As always, reviews/comments are always welcome, even if you have harsh criticism for me. Just keep it constructive, pretty please.
> 
> [Also deleted this part of the note 'cause again, bike trip thing no longer relevant.


	6. Demons of the Mist

"Is this the third or fourth time this week?" Naruto asked rhetorically, pulling a thorn out of his coat wearily.  
  
"Fifth," Sasuke supplied with an equal amount of enthusiasm, hoisting the small cat up to peer at it boredly.  He held it by the scruff of its neck, disallowing any struggle from the annoyed creature.  "First two were cats, then a dog, then a cat, now this one.  Tara, the name was?"  
  
"Sasuke, you might hurt her," came Hinata's small, fretting voice.  As usual, she had spotted the runaway using her Byakugan and the other two had closed in from opposite sides.  All in all the team was getting pretty good at catching stray pets, although it was beginning to wear on them.  Sasuke huffed and tossed Tara to her, the cat flailing a bit but landing upright on her shoulder and hissing at the boy.  
  
"I'm getting tired of these errands.  That's what they are; not even worth being called missions."  Naruto turned his head to the side at his friend's words, shrugging noncommittally but of more or less the same mind.  Even Hinata's couldn't argue with him, although she was more willing than either of them to perform such mundane tasks for as long as possible.  Sooner or later they would have to engage in dangerous missions where they might be hurt, or worse.  Her imagination was just about to get the better of her when the telltale cloud of smoke signaled Kakashi's arrival.  
  
"Yo," he said placidly, eye traveling between the three in a way that suggested he might have overheard their little conversation.  "Well done you three.  That brings our number of missions complete to twenty-six.  If we hurry back, the Hokage might have another to give us; the day is yet young."  Three resigned nods met him, and he frowned slightly beneath the mask.  
  
Across town the four stood in front of a long desk, occupied by numerous tomes and scrolls, attended to by the Sandaime, Iruka, and a number of other ninja, presumably of chuunin rank.  Iruka looked over Kakashi's report, nodding to himself as village leader shuffled scrolls around.  As always, he consulted the D-Rank list that most Genin teams handled.  He blinked, though, and looked up at a restless looking Naruto and a particularly surly Sasuke; even Hinata looked more uncomfortable than usual.  
  
"Something wrong?" he asked calmly, although the answer to his question could be seen a mile away.  
  
"Hokage-sama," Naruto began carefully, shifting his weight subconsciously and glancing at Iruka a bit guiltily.  "D-Rank missions are important, I know, but is there something else we might be able to do?"  The Sandaime looked to Kakashi for a moment, though the silver-haired man looked disinterested, and even innocent.  
  
"No disrespect meant," Sasuke continued, though he didn't seem very reverent, "But D-Rank missions are designed to build our teamwork while getting small tasks done in the process, correct?"  A small smile had appeared on the old man's lips, and he nodded.  "I think Kakashi can vouch for our teamwork, and Genin are allowed to do C-Rank missions as well."  
  
"Are you saying that you're ready for a C-Rank mission?"  The question was offered mildly, but it carried with it an unspoken weight that they all understood.  C-Rank missions weren't necessarily high on the threat scale, but they did carry some possibility of danger.  His calm, calculating eyes fell on Kakashi, who shrugged before responding for them.  
  
"They did pass my test with flying colors, Hokage-sama.  They have also completed a remarkable number of D-Rank missions in only two weeks’ time.  I don't think a C-Rank assignment should be out of the question."  
  
"I agree," came the congenial response, as if this had been planned from the beginning.  "I have been looking for the right team to assign this mission anyway.  It is a C-Rank escort mission; a bridge builder from the Wave Country desires protection.  Here is the briefing."  Kakashi stepped forward to accept the small scroll, bowing slightly as he did.  Nearby Iruka tried to seem busy, but he was absolutely glowing.  "You will leave in the morning for the Wave Country.  Make sure you are all prepared for a long mission, and get plenty of rest."  
  
It was difficult for Naruto to keep in his excitement as they bowed and departed, and even Sasuke’s smirk seemed more pleased than usual.  Hinata's brow was knitted in worry as she walked a pace behind her friends, though aside from the concern she did not appear reluctant.  If anything, the girl showed some resolve.  
  
Outside Kakashi unraveled the scroll and went over the details of the mission.  All three listened intently until he was finished.  "Alright you three, you heard the Hokage.  Get your supplies together, everything from ninja tools to several days’ rations.  Meet at the front gates at 7 a.m. sharp.  Understood?"  They all nodded again, and he concluded the orders as they exited the building.  "Good.  Dismissed."  
  
Sasuke bid his allies farewell as he moved off to his apartment to prepare, leaving Naruto and Hinata to walk down the street towards Iruka's home.  They were silent for a time, the blond boy's exuberance fading slowly as he began to notice his friend's apprehension.  It would be erroneous to think that he was in-tune with her enough to tell how she was feeling, but living in close quarters for a while - with some pointers from Iruka - had allowed him to catch on to hints quicker.  
  
"What's wrong, Hinata?" he asked, keeping his voice casual and chipper.  To his surprise, her cheeks didn't flush, no fidgeting occurred, and she didn't start stammering.  Instead Hinata was biting lightly at her lower lip, silent as they walked towards their lengthening shadows.  A sidelong glance revealed only that she was nervous, reluctant to speak, as if for fear that words might break something fragile, or open a door through which frightening prospects lay.

“Naruto-kun,” Hinata began cautiously, index fingers moving to press together.  “Are you . . . Are you sure about this mission?”  She appeared to wince very slightly, as if it had been painful to get the words out.  It was difficult enough for the girl to express herself, and more than just questioning her friends she was afraid to discourage Naruto especially.

The blond boy thought about it for a long moment.  Iruka had chided him about impulsive answers for years, encouraging him to think carefully in conversation, especially when it involved those close to him.  Hinata looked like she was being careful with her words, so he had to do the same.  Naruto scrunched up his features slightly, an action that normally elicited a blush from Hinata – for whatever reason.  He laced his fingers behind his head as they walked, considering for a full minute before offering a response.

“I don’t think Kakashi-sensei would vouch for us unless he really thought we were ready.  You, me, and Sasuke have been training together for years, so it makes sense I guess.  The Hokage and Kakashi trust us enough to do a C-Rank mission, and I trust you and Sasuke.  I’m as sure as I can be,” he finished a bit lamely, casting somewhat of an apologetic grin at his friend.  “What about you, Hinata-chan?” he continued, keeping in mind more of Iruka’s advice about considering other people’s thoughts and feelings.

“I . . .” Hinata began, still chewing absently at her lower lip.  “I trust you and Sasuke too.  I’m just . . .” She seemed to have trouble with the words, struggling for a moment before it all came out in a rush.  “I-I’m afraid that one of you will get hurt, or of something going wrong.  I’m scared that I’ll hold you back or get in the way, maybe even put the team in danger or cause somebody to be harmed, or worse.  You and Sasuke are always strong and confident.  I d-don’t want to hold anyone back, and I don’t want anybody put in danger because of me . . . .”  She trailed off at that, her cheeks flushed now in shame, eyes on the ground.  Tears had sprung unbidden to the corners of her eyes, though they stubbornly refused to fall.  Her fingers were white as they pressed together subconsciously.  It was a long, painful moment before Naruto responded.

“After we became genin, Iruka-sensei told me that we’d be going on missions together,” Naruto started as they rounded a corner, bringing their shared apartment into view.  “He said that eventually we’d be sent on dangerous missions, and that it was . . . Possible that we could die on them.”  Hinata didn’t look up, but seemed like she wanted to voice some kind of protest in response.  He continued before she could, voice full of assurance and cheer.  “I know that, but I trust you and Sasuke.  I know you’ll do your best to keep us safe and accomplish the mission, and we’ll do the same.”  On impulse he reached over and caught her pinky finger with his, winking and giving it a little squeeze.  “You’re never going to hold us back, Hinata-chan, I promise.  Have a little more faith in yourself; I know Sasuke and I have plenty of confidence in you too.”  He gave another of his patented smiles and lowered his hand, though it proved to still be attached to Hinata’s.  The girl, while as red as she possibly could be, was holding on tight.

They walked onward in silence for a moment, and Naruto felt some heat rising to his cheeks as he realized they were sort of hand-in-hand.  Well, finger-in-finger, anyway.  But some tension seemed to release from Hinata’s shoulders as they continued, and she only had to wipe a single threatening tear away.  She nodded slowly but firmly after a time, her face still approximately the same color as a ripe tomato.

“Thank you, Naruto-kun,” she said finally, so quiet he nearly missed it.  The blond boy scratched at the back of his head awkwardly, but managed a broad grin despite himself.  Before he could think of a response, however, Iruka came around the corner a few meters behind them.

“Oh hey Naruto, Hinata; I wanted to help you two pack for–” Iruka’s voice broke off as he focused on them, blinking at the pair from several paces back.  They both spun at the same time, hands snapping back as if shocked by a sudden surge of electricity.  The slowly spreading smirk on their old teacher’s face proved that they had been too slow, however.  “This will be your first long mission, so I wanted to make sure you two have everything you need,” he continued nonchalantly, as if he had seen nothing.  Naruto’s sheepish grin did little to hide the color in his features, nearly matching Hinata’s brilliant hue.  They both nodded vigorously and fell in next to Iruka, glancing at one another furtively as the chunin continued on about the various tools and supplies they should consider taking.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

“Ready to set out?”  Kakashi addressed his team in front of Konoha’s gate a few minutes after the agreed-upon time.  To all three genins’ surprise, their instructor had showed up early, almost the same time they had.  After quickly checking their equipment and explaining the mission, they now stood waiting for their client to arrive.  “Now remember, danger isn’t very likely on this mission even if it is C-Rank, but it is possible.  It’ll take us two days to get to Wave Country at a pace Tazuna can keep, so keep alert.  We’ll rotate positions frequently, but for the start Hinata will take point.  Naruto and Sasuke stay on either side of Tazuna, and I’ll bring up the rear.”  Each of them nodded once in affirmation, just as an old man wearing a sandogasa approached.  He also appeared to be . . . Drunk.

“Didn’t I hire ninjas to escort me?”  The bespectacled old man hiccoughed roughly, taking another long swig from a brown bottle that smelled strongly of alcohol.  “These’re a bunch o’ kids.”  He stopped to look them over, a dubious expression plastered on his face.

“This is Team Seven, Tazuna-san.  I assure you they are all qualified ninja.  This is Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke.  Team, this is our client, Tazuna, a bridge builder from the Wave Country.”  All three nodded politely, though with varied expressions.  Naruto seemed annoyed; Sasuke appeared as apathetic as usual, though with a touch of disdain in his eyes; Hinata was despondent, averting her gaze and looking at the ground.  Naruto nudged her lightly, flashing a brief smile that she returned feebly.

“Ah whatever.  Just don’t cause me any trouble, kids.”  Tazuna chortled to himself and took another drink, turning without further conversation to start trundling down the road out of the town.  Kakashi followed immediately, cocking his head towards the man to indicate that it was time to leave.  After a shared doubtful look, Team Seven assumed their positions and began their mission.

At Kakashi’s request, Hinata activated her Byakugan every kilometer or so, scanning far ahead just in case.  Her allies stayed alert at their stations, eyes scanning the trees on either side calmly.  More than one person had already assured them that there was little chance of obstruction, let alone from anything more dangerous than a bandit.  Kakashi seemed bored as always, his one visible eye half-lidded as he plodded forward behind the troupe.  Scenery came and went as they passed through glades, over rivers, and intersected other roads.

Around midday, after a brief break, they had shuffled positions and Naruto now set the pace out front, keeping closer watch than he had previously.  Sasuke walked on Tazuna’s left, Hinata matching his steps on the opposite side.  Only Kakashi glanced aside as they passed a stray puddle, his expression unchanged though causing Sasuke to take note of it as well.  It seemed odd to the Uchiha that a puddle would be in the middle of the road on a sunny afternoon, especially when it hadn’t rained in a while.  But their instructor seemed uninterested, so he turned his attention back to the forest.

Seconds later there was a violent metallic clinking, accompanied by an intense killer intent.  All three genin pivoted simultaneously, each with a kunai in hand as if it had appeared there of its own will.  But they were too slow.  Kakashi’s eye was wide in surprise as barbed chains pulled tight about him, their lengths attached to two cloaked ninja that had apparently come out of thin air.  The barbs of the chains dug in viciously as the pair of assassins chanted together.

“First one,” they snarled.  Faster than any of them could blink, the lengths of metal retracted to their wielders.  The result was lost in a cloud of mayhem and gore, what was left of Kakashi falling to the ground and kicking up a haze of dust and dirt as the chains ripped cleanly through the jounin.

Four pairs of eyes were wide in shock.  It had happened so fast.  Tazuna looked like he might be sick.  Sasuke cursed and grit his teeth, preparing for a fight.  Hinata’s horrified gasp was replaced quickly with rapid footsteps, placing her between the two ninja and the bridge builder.  Fear threatened to take hold of her, but she forced it away.  As quickly as the attackers had appeared, they blurred in movement, seeming to vanish from sight.

“Second one.”  The echo came immediately behind Naruto, who had been caught outside of the group at his position on point.  Even as he turned he knew it wouldn’t be fast enough.  Each of the assassins raised a clawed hand, now a mere meter away, the vicious links attaching them already threatening to encircle him.  Naruto grit his teeth, still mid-spin, forcing himself down towards the ground in an attempt to flatten and avoid the weapons.  Thankfully, his teammates had recovered.

A shuriken ripped through the air, catching the chain in its flight and pinning it to a nearby tree.  Sasuke had leapt towards Naruto the moment the attackers had vanished, sensing the weak point and reacting precisely.  A kunai followed hot on the shuriken’s tail, striking the tree trunk through the center of the first weapon and securing the chain tight to the tree.  The Uchiha landed a breath later, striking out at both attackers with vicious kicks and knocking them both off balance towards Naruto, who didn’t miss a beat.

The blond boy turned his fall into a sidelong roll towards one of the attackers, catching him off guard with a flurry of blows and slashes from the kunai.  But his opponent was good.  It was apparent that the enemy was at least of chunin level, and the vicious looking claws they wore indicated that they were close-quarters combat specialists.  After surprising the man with a few solid blows and some minor slashes, he caught up and began trading blows evenly.  Naruto, like his companions, may have been fairly ahead of their years in taijutsu, but the assassin likely had years of experience in his trade.  Blood sprayed from the back of Naruto’s hand as a claw raked it, forcing him to drop the kunai and leap back.  An odd tingling sensation rose immediately from the wounded hand, eliciting a curse from the genin.

“Poison!” Naruto called to his allies before reengaging his foe.  His only real hope was to survive and keep the assassin from getting to the others, praying that Sasuke and Hinata could handle the other and come to assist after.

As soon as Sasuke had pinned their weapons, the other attacker split off, rushing Tazuna with claws bared.  Hinata stood ready in her jyuken stance, bloodline activated and her features set in determination.  Sasuke blurred next to the oncoming foe, sweeping a leg in an attempt to trip him up.  The enemy ninja leapt, though the kick caught his right leg, throwing the jump off course.  Hinata was ready.

“Eight Divination Signs: Sixty-Four Palms!” she cried, eyes narrowing in concentration.  Thanks to Sasuke’s actions her attacker had slowed and been forced to jump too high, just within reach of the young Hyuga.  “Two strikes,” she murmured, hands flying as she shifted forward to intercept the oncoming ninja.  Her first two blows sparked tiny blue flames on his chest and stopped him cold, but she didn’t let up to make sure her aim was on.  “Four strikes,” she continued methodically, limbs moving faster with each new set.  “Eight strikes.  Sixteen strikes.”  Hinata ground her teeth, the muscles in her arms screaming in protest as her speed reached its peak, the power in each blow increasing exponentially.  “Thirty-two strikes.”  Her attacker coughed and staggered back, a small amount of blood spattering through his black cloth mask.  Halfway through her series Hinata faltered, stumbling back and breathing heavily.  Her arms shook violently, the strain of less than half of the ability apparent in her whole body.

The assassin growled, dropping to one knee and breathing even more heavily than the girl.  He reached into his belt pouch, withdrawing two small spheres, preparing to cast them at the ground to throw up a smoke screen.  But he never got the chance.  Kakashi was suddenly just there, holding Naruto’s attacker limp in one arm and his accomplice’s neck in the other.  He looked calm as ever, though there was an undertone of anger in his eyes that was felt more than it was seen.

“Well done, you three,” he stated dryly, a bit of pride showing through his curtness.  Hinata collapsed onto her knees, still shaking but overjoyed and relieved to see their teacher unharmed.  Sasuke rose from his crouch, trying to seem aloof but succeeding only to a degree.  He, like his friend, was thankful as well.  “Naruto, are you alright?”  It was these words that drew their attention to the blond boy, laying sprawled on his back where he had been engaged in combat.  Hinata gasped and tried to stand too quickly, falling back but managing to call to her friend.

“I’m fine,” Naruto sighed, sitting up slowly and holding his head with his uninjured hand.  “I just moved too much after I got hit; had to cut out the poison.”  It was then that they noted a sizeable gouge taken out of the back of his hand and the bloody kunai sitting next to him.  As soon as Kakashi had intervened he had sliced open his own hand, allowing it to bleed freely for a time to get the poison out.  The wound, however, already appeared to be closing on its own, skin rapidly stitching itself together under the cover of blood.  He stood slowly, wobbling only slightly as he made his way to the rest.  Aside from appearing to be a bit pale, Naruto seemed as well as he claimed.

“Quick thinking, though you should sit down for a while.  Doubtless some of the poison circulated through you during the conflict, and I didn’t bring any antidotes along.  Sasuke, excellent reaction time; you saved Naruto’s life.  Hinata, you acted properly protecting Tazuna, and what’s more you incapacitated a skilled enemy impressively.  Naruto, you were right to engage your target to keep him away from the others.  All in all, excellent work.  Now,” he continued, turning his hard stare towards the bridge builder.  “I think we need to have a talk.”

It took a few minutes for Kakashi to get the assassins tied up and awake, allowing time for Hinata and Naruto to recover.  Sasuke bandaged his friend’s wounded hand while they spoke.

“Thanks for the help, Sasuke,” Naruto said with a sigh, wincing once as the cloth tightened around his hand.  The Uchiha shook his head, smirking slightly.

“I only distracted them long enough for you two to take them out.  I dunno if you saw what Hinata did to that guy, but it was pretty incredible.  What was that anyway?”  Hinata sat fidgeting nearby, cheeks colored at the relatively minor praise.

“I-it’s a technique designed to shut down all of the tenketsu points on a person’s body, and also deal a good amount of physical damage.”  She blinked up at her friends, looking between them and wondering why they looked so stunned.  “B-but I didn’t do it right,” she continued dully, color fading from her face again.  “I couldn’t even get halfway through it.”

“Hinata, do you realize how fast you were moving?” Sasuke asked bluntly, tying off Naruto’s bandage as he spoke.  “If I heard you correctly you just shut off sixty-four of his tenketsu, and simultaneously drove him back with the force.  Even if you didn’t complete it, it was still damn impressive.”

“I was only able to do it with your help,” she responded modestly, though flushed again and bowed her head.  “Are you okay, Naruto-kun?”  The blond boy had been smirking between the two of them, though tried to hide it as Hinata turned towards him, her milky eyes showing concern.

“Yeah, I’m alright.  That guy was pretty tough, but I kept up okay I think.  Just wasn’t careful enough to avoid his claws, I guess.  I think the poison’s out of my system, though.”  He stood slowly to emphasize the point, offering a hand to Hinata as he did.  She took it with a nod, trying not to blush more than she already was.  Kakashi was just standing back from the tree that now held the assassins hostage.

“Tazuna-san,” Kakashi began slowly, eyes staying fixed on the two attackers.  “Do you know why I allowed everyone present to believe I had been killed?”  Tazuna shook his head, a bead of sweat making its way slowly down from his temple.  “I wanted to see what they were after.  Any jounin worth his salt would have noticed the puddle they were concealed within; it hasn’t rained in days.”  The two prisoners glowered and growled, though quieted at a hard look from their captor.  “These two are the Demon Brothers, chunin-level ninja from the Hidden Mist.”  Kakashi turned towards Tazuna now, his eye boring a hole through the man.  “Is there a reason these two were after you?”

“I – I’m not sure what you mean,” the bridge builder responded, voice a little too high to be sincere.

“I think you do,” Kakashi returned flatly.  “You hired us for a C-Rank mission.  If we had known you were being pursued by other ninjas, this would have been at least a B-Rank mission, and an expensive one at that.  You might have a good reason for withholding information, but if it puts my team in danger then I have no choice but to call off this mission.”

“Wait, please!”  A desperate edge in the old man’s voice made Kakashi stop after he had turned away.  The jounin glanced back, raising an eyebrow in question.  “You’re right,” he sighed, casting a look towards the assassins.  “My country is poor, and we couldn’t afford to pay for a high ranking mission.  I didn’t think Gatoh would go this far, but–”

“Gatoh?” Kakashi interrupted, blinking several times as he turned to face Tazuna again.  “The billionaire and president of the Gatoh Company?”

“The one and only,” Tazuna replied bitterly.  “He came to our lands about a year ago, and has been a terror ever since.  He employs gangs and ninjas to curb lands to his will, and he’s after me now because of the bridge I’m building to the mainland.”

“Ano, sir?” Hinata ventured cautiously, looking anxious.  “Why is a bridge such a threat to Gatoh?  Attempts on your life seem . . . Extreme for such a thing.”

“In a nut shell, Gatoh controls the shipping industry; that’s how he got rich in the first place.  If our country gained access to the mainland by means other than ships, it would threaten his hold on our nation.  That’s why I needed to make sure I was protected.  Without me, the bridge can’t be completed, and with such pressures already in place no one else will step forward to continue the project.  It may seem dramatic, but without me our country may shrivel and die, sucked dry by Gatoh’s greed and malice.”  A long minute passed after the old man’s speech, his dark eyes pleading as they went to each of them in turn.  “I know what I did was wrong, but I had no choice, for the sake of my village; for the sake of my family.”

“We’re not unsympathetic,” Kakashi sighed, a hand lifting back to rub at the back of his neck.  “But the fact remains that you put my team – three genins, newly promoted ninjas – in danger because of your deceit.  I don’t have a choice but to terminate the mission.  We can protect you and bring you back to the village, but from there you’ll have to put in a proper request.”

“Sensei, his village can’t afford to pay the fee.”  It was Naruto’s turn to speak now.  He had been listening to the exchange, flexing his hand as he considered the situation.  “Iruka-sensei always said that a ninja should always help when somebody deserving is in need.  I don’t want to just leave his village to that jerk Gatoh, do you?”  Hinata looked for a moment at Naruto, biting at her lower lip, before she turned and nodded her agreement to Kakashi.

“I agree with Naruto, but only if he’s going to be straight with us from here on out.  I don’t want any more surprises like that,” Sasuke interjected coolly.  Kakashi looked intently from one of his students to the other, considering their words before sighing again.

“You three know the kind of danger this mission now offers.  These two may have been chunin-level, but they were experienced assassins.  Seeing more of them, or even a jounin wouldn’t be out of the question.  You’re still willing to go on?”  It took a little longer than it might normally for them to respond, but three nods of affirmation came quickly enough.  He sighed again.  “Tazuna, wait with them.  I’m going to have a talk with our new friends here.”  Without waiting for a reply Kakashi turned, vanishing in a cloud of white smoke, the two captive ninja mysteriously gone with him.

“Well, may as well go over the recap like we would in training,” Sasuke started after a moment, plopping down to wait for Kakashi.  Hinata, you first; you had a better view of Naruto and I during the initial attack.”  On his cue the other two sank to the ground, facing one another with a good amount of room between.

“Like Kakashi-sensei said, your reaction was what saved us.  Your aim was perfect as usual, but your jump was off a little.  If you had landed a little in front of them instead of on their arms, you could have kicked them back and off balance without sacrificing your own positioning, and maybe engaged the other before he could get to Tazuna.”  Despite her usual demure self, this was something Hinata had gotten used to from training with her friends.  They could all offer one another constructive criticism and not worry about feeling bad for it.  She couldn’t help the slight blush as she addressed Naruto, however.  “Naruto-kun, I think Sasuke realized it faster than either of us that you were the next target after Kakashi-sensei.  If you had picked it out quicker you may have been able to avoid the attack without Sasuke’s help.  But you recovered well, and like he said you were right to engage and keep the one away from us.  Just be a little more cautious of what kind of weapons your opponent is using.”  Naruto and Sasuke both nodded at the appropriate parts, taking in their friend’s comments before discussing between themselves briefly.

“Guess we were all on the same page,” Naruto said with a small grin, turning to Hinata and shoving her shoulder lightly.  “You’re the only one who did everything perfect.”  He had expected her to flush and deny it, but she simply shook her head.

“If I had completed the technique he wouldn’t have been able to move at all, and we could have helped you.  Well, Sasuke could have.  Because of me, Kakashi-sensei had to come back in to save us . . .” She trailed off, shoulders rolling very slightly in a shrug.  “I should have been able to do it.”

“Young lady, I’m not sure what you did, but it was the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen.  Not only did you remain calm in that situation, but you protected me, and with the finesse of one far beyond your age.”  Hinata blinked up at the old man that had addressed her, his broad smile proof that he had reassessed his opinion of the trio.  “You should be proud.”

“Tazuna-san is right, Hinata,” Sasuke agreed.  “If you really want some criticism all I can give is that you should practice that more; your body obviously isn’t used to it, and I’ve never seen anything like that when we spar.  I’m sure if you put some work into it you’d be able to master it before long.  You’re faster than either of us, so I bet it’s just a matter of conditioning so your muscles can handle the stress.”

The Hyuga girl looked from one of her friend’s to the other, and up to Tazuna, before finally allowing herself a small smile, ducking her head before anybody could see the red creeping into her cheeks.  Thankfully, Kakashi returned shortly thereafter, saving her from the embarrassment.

“They didn’t betray much.  All I could learn was that there are more of them in whatever organization they belong to, or maybe just other mercenaries Gatoh has hired.”  None of them asked what happened to the assassins after the questioning.  “Tazuna-san, as Sasuke said, if we are to continue this mission you will need to share any and all information you have with us.  Is there anything else we should know before we continue?”

“Only that we will be on our own.  Gatoh’s gang has the town beaten down, and nobody dares challenge his authority.  I don’t know any specifics about who he’s hired, aside from the fact that he’s contracted ninjas to kill me.”

“Alright.  Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata; I’m upgrading this mission to high B-Rank as of now.  You are to be combat ready at all times.  Hinata will stay on point; activate your Byakugan every five minutes to scan ahead and all around us.  At the first sign of danger, form up around Tazuna in the swastika formation.  I will handle any threats from here on out, understood?”  A sharp chorus of affirmation from Team Seven elicited a nod from Kakashi.  “Good.  Let’s move out.”

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

“We’re sharing a tent?”  Naruto had a look on his face that was somewhere between incredulous and embarrassed.  Kakashi, who had just finished delivering the news, blinked up at the boy quizzically before shaking his head and returning to erecting his own tent.

“Didn’t they tell you when you were at the academy?  A ninja is a ninja; male or female makes little difference in the field, and most times you won’t have the luxury of separate accommodations anyway.  You three are small enough to share a tent between you, and besides, don’t you live with Hinata already?”  Kakashi’s mask covered his mischievous smirk.  As far as he was concerned they were far too young to worry about in the first place, but there was no harm in teasing for something the boy wouldn’t understand.  As expected, more color rose in Naruto’s features.

“Well yeah but we don’t sleep in the same room,” he muttered, turning away and walking back to his friends.  He shrugged and shifted back and forth on his feet before speaking, trying not to look as uncomfortable as he felt.  “Kakashi says we have to share a tent; he only brought two.”  They both blinked back at him, though Sasuke didn’t seem perturbed.  Hinata, though, traversed the color spectrum more rapidly than he thought was possible.  “Sasuke and I can just sleep outside; there’s plenty of trees around.  Right Sasuke?”  The Uchiha boy shrugged and nodded, turning back to finish putting up their tent.

“N-no!” Hinata said quickly, waving her hands in front of her.  “It’s alright, r-really. I mean, we’ve been friends for years, it’s not a big deal . . .” She trailed off lamely, more red rising to her cheeks and ears.  Naruto looked at her curiously for a moment, then shrugged, scratching at the back of his neck.

“Alright, if you say so.  Here, let me help Sasuke.”  He rushed to the opposite side of the tent, both legitimately to help his friend and also for an excuse to get away from the awkward conversation.  Iruka had gone over some things with him over the years, including certain behavior that was expected with girls.  It was only recently that he had started to notice that Hinata was, in fact, female.  Like she said, they had been friends since childhood, and it had never mattered before.

Less than an hour later they sat in a circle around a campfire, the flames set low in a dug out hole.  Kakashi was reading one of his little books while his team cleaned and sharpened the equipment that had been used that day.  A small boar had been caught for the night’s meal and now sat on a spit over the fire.

“You three never told me you could cook,” Kakashi mused, not looking up from his reading.  “I expected Hinata to have been taught at some point, but not you two.”

“Iruka-sensei said I should learn some simple stuff for missions, and in case he wasn’t home.  Most of it is just seasoning, though, like the rub for this one,” Naruto responded modestly, showing Kakashi the small bag of herbs and salts he had ground and used to season the meat.  “I made this one before we left.”

“I’ve lived alone for a while,” Sasuke said evenly, leaning back from a handful of wild vegetables he had finished chopping.  He slid a portion of each onto five plates while Hinata began cutting from the spit, making sure each dish had a sizeable chunk or two of meat before passing them to Kakashi and Tazuna.

 _I almost feel like this is cheating, having three long-time friends on the same team.  They even cook using teamwork._ Kakashi shook his head and thanked Hinata before settling down to eat.  All three had stopped questioning how the jounin managed to eat without them ever seeing his face.  Sometimes his food just vanished, as if he had employed his ninja training in eating just as well as in combat.  Other times it disappeared bit by bit, presumably when absolutely nobody was looking his way.  Tonight was the latter method.

“Damn good,” Tazuna praised through a mouthful of pork, grinning at the three genin and shaking his head.  “I was wrong about you three, and I apologize for what I said before.  I’ve seen how you handle yourselves in a fight, and now I’m very glad to say I’ve seen how you can cook!”  He barked out a raucous laugh before tearing off another piece of meat.  Their reaction to his words was as expected: Naruto beamed and smiled broadly, Sasuke shrugged and sipped water from a canteen, and Hinata ducked her head.

“We’ll be on the move again by dawn.”  Kakashi’s voice came to them through the light tent fabric, ripples spreading from where he flicked the material from the outside.  Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata were inside, setting out bedrolls and preparing to sleep.  “We need to meet Tazuna’s contact at nine a.m. so that he can escort us across the straight to Wave Country.  No dawdling in the morning.”  Moments later the glow of the campfire faded in a torrent of hissing, followed shortly by the sound of earth shifting to swallow up the pit.

Naruto yawned and crawled onto the center roll, shrugging out of his sleeveless coat and folding it where his head would be to act as a pillow.  After slipping out of his dark jaki-tabi – something Iruka had encouraged him to pick up after Naruto had voiced his dislike for sandals – he settled on his makeshift bed, lifting a hand to his shirt collar before stopping abruptly.  He glanced sideways at Hinata, who was turned towards the entrance of their tent removing her footwear.  He shrugged to himself then, quickly slipping out of the grey t-shirt.  _It’s hot, and Hinata won’t care; Sasuke and I have trained without shirts before._

Hinata mimicked her friend, folding and turning to put down her coat, something that was getting all too warm to be wearing this time of year.  She turned to move to the head of her bedroll and froze, blinking at Naruto and Sasuke.  They had both casually removed their shirts while she had been turned.  Sasuke lay already dozing on his side, back to the two of them.  Naruto hadn’t yet fallen asleep, but he was lying on his back, eyes half lidded and muttering something about ramen.  She sat there for a moment, color rising in her face for the umpteenth time that night, before shaking her head and forcing the heat away.

 _No different than training,_ she said to herself again and again as she lay down.  But it wasn’t the same, for some reason.  Even as her friends quickly succumbed to sleep she stayed awake for a time, trying to reason out thoughts and feelings until exhaustion finally won over.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

Naruto stifled a yawn as they walked, keeping his eyes on the woods and doing his best not to think about that morning.  He had woken first and blinked his eyes open mere centimeters from Hinata’s face; it had been all he could do to stay quiet and slowly sit back and up.  The experience – coupled with the previous night’s awkward conversation – had given him enough thought to muddle through the whole morning.  It was something he had resigned to talk to Iruka about when they returned.

As Kakashi had promised, they arrived at the meeting point just before nine.  Trees thinned out to reveal a narrow strand of beach, though they could see only a few meters through the thick fog coming off of the sea beyond.  A man stood on the shore next to a small wooden boat, its bow half buried in the sand.  Without wasting any time they made hasty introductions and were aboard, shoving off from the land and delving into the curtain of mist.  The short journey across the channel was uneventful, save for the appearance of the bridge looming out of the haze above them.

“Is that your bridge, Tazuna-san?” Naruto asked curiously, eyes a little wide in wonder.  It was enough that the youth – like his friends – had never been allowed outside of the village.  Such structures were awe inspiring.

“Aye, that’s it.  That’s our village’s hopes and dreams.”  No further conversation was to be had; the fog felt ominous, in a way.  It held the same effect as a dark room, where people whispered on instinct even when there might not be a reason to.  It was like a living entity, one that demanded a respectful silence.

The whiteness broke suddenly as they entered a low tunnel, emerging on the other side to clear skies and open blue water into what seemed like an artificial lagoon.  Their guide docked the boat at a nearby wooden platform, ushering them off quickly and looking around nervously.

“Thank you,” Tazuna said solemnly, nodding to the man.  His only response was a curt nod, more glances in around, and the roar of the engine starting as he peeled away from the dock.  “As you can see,” the old man continued dryly, turning towards the path that ran off into the woods, “People are scared to even be seen with me.  Can’t blame them, though; Gatoh’s got the whole village scared.”

“That’ll change once we’re through,” Naruto stated confidently, grinning from Tazuna’s side.  The words earned him a smirk from their client.  “C’mon, let’s get you back home mister.  The sooner we get back the sooner that jerk Gatoh will get what’s coming to him.”  Tazuna couldn’t help but chuckle at the boy’s assurance, shaking his head but starting down the road without further encouragement.

Several kilometers of walking later Hinata stopped, raising a small fist in the air to signal a halt.  Kakashi appeared next to her, speaking quietly.

“What is it?” he murmured, his eye scanning the trees in the direction the girl was looking.  Her Byakugan was active and she staring intently ahead.

“There’s somebody in the trees ahead, maybe three hundred meters ahead.  No, three hundred and twenty-five meters.  I can’t make out many details, but he’s tall, and has a huge sword on his back that’s longer than he is.”  Sasuke and Naruto tensed at the same time, drawing out their kunai.  Kakashi nodded and stepped in front of Hinata.

“Good work,” he said quietly.  “Fall back to protect Tazuna; I’ll handle him.”  She nodded and fell in with her team in the swastika formation, a kunai of her own already in hand.  Meanwhile Kakashi proceeded at the same pace, eyes ahead and taking mental note of where the enemy was.  “Inform me if he moves.”

The party proceeded three hundred meters before Hinata spoke again, a rapid whisper to their instructor.  “He’s coming this way, though I don’t think he’s heading towards us.  He should appear ten meters ahead of us.”  As if on cue, a form blurred into their path, blocking their advance.

The man that now stood before them was tall indeed.  He wore no shirt, only pinstriped trousers held up by modified suspenders.  Black and white leg and arm warmers adorned each limb, and bandages covered most of his face.  Kakashi cocked his head to the side, feigning calm as he spread his hands to his sides.

“Momochi Zabuza, eh?” Kakashi drawled, still apparently relaxed and bored.  “Last I heard you were exiled from the Hidden Mist and put in their Bingo Book.  Failed coups will do that, I hear.”

“Hatake Kakashi, the Leaf’s infamous copy ninja.  Your party’s packing quite the ocular punch: an Uchiha _and_ a Hyuga?  Unless the boy just likes the old clan symbol.”  Zabuza matched his adversary’s posture, feigning nonchalance while every muscle in his body was poised for action.  “I didn’t even bother with an ambush; the girl would have warned you anyway.  Any chance you’ll want to make this easy and just hand the old man over?”

“Tempting offer, but no thanks,” Kakashi responded coolly, hand moving lazily to lift his forehead protector from the always-hidden eye.  “You three protect Tazuna.  I’ll handle him.”  They were already set in balanced combat stances, though each watched their teacher with interest.  None of them had ever seen that eye, and had never thought to ask why it was hidden.  Zabuza sighed and shrugged, the motion loosening the massive blade that hung on his back.

“As you wish.  But don’t think I’m going to let you use your Sharingan that easily.”  A noise escaped Sasuke’s lips, something between a gasp and a growl.  But there was little time to discuss the cause of his unrest.  Zabuza vanished and reappeared several meters back from his starting point, standing atop a small river and channeling his chakra.  In seconds a thick mist rose from their surroundings, coating the air even thicker than the fog covering the sea.  Kakashi was all but lost from sight, only his outline remaining visible.

And then they felt it.  Sweat beaded almost immediately on the three genin and Tazuna alike, and it was not a result of heat or condensation.  The air was thick with killing intent unlike any they had ever felt, radiating from Kakashi and seeming to emanate from the mist around them.  This man was a jounin, and on a whole other level than the Demon Brothers.  He had initiated an assault by himself without even hesitating, and he moved with a speed that could rival Kakashi’s.  This was something entirely out of their league, and they knew it.

“He can appear anywhere in this mist, and in complete silence.  Don’t let your guard down for an instant.”  Kakashi’s voice sounded slightly muffled from the mist, but they understood enough to stiffen and continue glancing around warily.

Without warning Hinata spun, lashing out behind them with her kunai.  Tazuna had been the only one just behind them, but in less time than a blink the new assassin had appeared in the narrow opening, heavy blade ready to strike down all four at once.  The kunoichi had reacted first, however, slicing from Zabuza’s hip to his shoulder in one fluid movement.  Kakashi was there in a heartbeat, but already the form had melted into a puddle of water.

“Water clone,” Kakashi muttered, glancing down to Hinata, who was breathing harder than she ought to be.  “Calm down,” he said with what must have been a reassuring smile.  “I won’t let anything happen to any of–”  A thick metal blade cut through his torso mid-sentence, slicing the silver-haired jounin in half and preventing him from finishing the sentence.  Permanently, or so the horrified genin thought.

More water splashed onto the ground where Kakashi’s body had been.  The real one now stood just behind the sword’s wielder, kunai’s tip pressed against Zabuza’s back just below the left set of floating ribs.  “Don’t move,” he said calmly, digging the blade in a little further.

“Heh, pretty good Kakashi.  But you’ll need to do more than copy techniques to beat me.”  Kakashi dropped to the ground before Zabuza had finished speaking, his giant sword sweeping over his head and taking off a few silver hairs.  But the missing nin was fast.  In an instant he had spun, a whirling kick striking Kakashi in the jaw.  The Sharingan user careened backwards, gritting his teeth just before hitting the water beyond the road.  “I’ll be right back, kids,” Zabuza growled, a maniacal grin on the man’s face.  Then he blurred and was atop the water again, hands moving so fast that they could hardly make out the hand signs.  “Suiton: Water Prison!”

The technique landed just as Kakashi surfaced.  A cascade of swirling water closed on him, capturing and immobilizing the Konoha jounin.  Without hesitation Kakashi shouted to his team, words a little distorted but clearly audible.

“Take Tazuna and run!” All three of his genin stood there, stunned and blinking.  Had they really seen it?  Had Kakashi been captured right in front of their eyes after such a brief yet impressive exchange?  He growled and shouted again as Zabuza made a hand sign with one hand, the other emerged in the water prison.  “He’s stronger than I thought; get away now before–”

“No!”  Naruto’s retort may have been offered louder than necessary, but it got the message across.  Kakashi balked and blinked, actions mimicked by Zabuza.

“We’re not leaving an ally behind,” Sasuke interjected, trying to stay calm despite the all too reasonable fear of death.  Hinata could only nod put on her best determined look, which looked all too pale.

“No?” the Mist ninja asked, amused.  “Kakashi, you didn’t teach your students very well.  Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu.”  A single copy of Zabuza formed between him and the party of four, eyes turned up in what must have been a grin behind that mask.  The clone took over speaking now.  “I’ve already captured Kakashi.  I hope you realize I can crush you before you take in your next breath.”  None of them seemed to be paying him much attention.

“Hinata, stay with Tazuna,” Naruto muttered out of the corner of his mouth, quiet enough for only his allies to hear.  “I’ll leave a few clones too.  Sasuke, pattern D, but use yourself, and ignore his clone.  We have to break him away from the prison or none of us are getting out of here alive.”  Sasuke nodded, drawing out two fists of shuriken before his friend had even named the plan.  The blond boy faced Zabuza defiantly then, forming the clone seal and roaring, “Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!”

Hinata blinked at the smoke surrounding the small vale.  She had seen Naruto perform his clone technique many times, but she had never heard him add that prefix along with it.  And now she knew why.  A veritable horde of Narutos now stood in every available space, some even alighting on nearby trees for the lack of space.  There had to have been nearly a hundred of them, maybe more, every one of them poised with a kunai and sneering at Zabuza.  But her eyes showed her more than just that.  Her Byakugan could see a person’s chakra circulatory system, as well as the chakra inside of it.  While there were an incredible number of clones, they all had only a very small amount of chakra, which meant that Naruto himself had spent nearly his whole reserve.  From observation she knew that he had more chakra than anybody she had seen, even more than Kakashi, and the fact that he had been able to split the stores between so many and still stand was both incredible and frightening.

“Naruto,” she gasped softly, “You can’t–!”

“I’m fine,” he responded roughly.  “I need to give Sasuke the best distraction I can.”  Hinata bit her lip hard enough to draw blood and looked away, focusing again on Zabuza as five clones moved in close beside her.  “Let’s go!” he shouted, charging forward in a wave of battle cries.

Even Zabuza seemed taken aback for a moment.  He couldn’t look in any direction without seeing a dozen blond kids charging towards him, dark coats billowing behind them and all brandishing weaponry.  “Huh, impressive, but my sword was made for . . .”  He blinked, watching two fists of shuriken fly out of the horde and straight past the clone.  “Brats,” he muttered, his free arm moving in a blur to deflect each and every projectile.  Meanwhile the clone had taken to warding off the swarm, broad blade cutting swathes through the crowd, taking out four or five with each swing and sparring one-handed with any that managed to get past.

Kakashi watched, helpless to act.  It was chaos from his point of view.  Narutos were shouting from every direction, each one acting on its own to take down Zabuza’s clone and get past him.  The ranks were thinning quickly, but he knew what their plan was.  They had a chance.

A fuuma shuriken whirred out of the din, on course to cut the real Zabuza down.  He rolled his eyes, twisting his body and catching the spinning blade deftly in his free hand.  But just as Kakashi expected, a second was hot on the other’s heels, hidden in the other’s shadow so perfectly that even he had not seen it.  _That’s Sasuke, for you._   Zabuza’s eyes went wide, and for the briefest moment Kakashi thought they had won.

“Nice try.”  The assassin brought his legs up to his chest in a standing jump, allowing the deadly weapon to pass directly under him.

“Game over,” Kakashi smirked.  Zabuza snarled and turned, but it was too late.  Just like when they had taken the bell from Kakashi, the fuuma shuriken burst into a cloud of smoke and Sasuke had emerged from it.  Two kunai were already heading straight for Zabuza’s head and back, another fist of shuriken following closely after.  He had no choice but to dodge, lest he want his life to end at the hands of a child.

With a guttural growl Zabuza tore his arm from the water prison, releasing the technique and allowing the projectiles to pass by him, though not without getting nicked by one or two.  He brought the caught shuriken back for a throw, aiming at Sasuke with unmistakable rage in his eyes.  “You . . . Fool!”

“I don’t think so.”  Kakashi’s voice came low and dangerous, his vice-like grip closing in around Zabuza’s wrist.  “You’d better believe I won’t underestimate you again.  Sasuke!”  Even before the call the Uchiha was rushing forward, feet flying across the water with a kunai bared to strike at the enemy.  Zabuza glanced back to his clone, but it was dissolving into water after one of the few dozen remaining Narutos got a knife into its side.  More were now sprinting towards the river.

Suddenly Zabuza’s body jerked, going into a brief spasm before he simply started to fall towards the water.  Kakashi’s head whipped around to a nearby tree, allowing the body to fall limp into the stream.  Sasuke stopped short skidding to a halt and looking wide-eyed at his enemy’s neck.  Two long senbon protruded from the back of the man’s neck, apparently having killed him instantly.  As suddenly as the conflict had begun, it ceased, the thundering of clone footsteps dying down as they realized what had happened.  The area was silent for a long moment before a voice spoke from the tree Kakashi was regarding with narrowed eyes.

“Sorry about that,” came the calm voice.  A short, androgynous-looking ninja stood on a branch of the tree, face concealed by an ANBU mask with the Hidden Mist’s symbol at the forehead.  “But I couldn’t risk him getting away and you had him still for me.”  The newcomer inclined his head to Kakashi before continuing.  “The Mist thanks you for your assistance in taking down one of its most wanted exiles.”

“You’re a hunter-nin from the Hidden Mist,” Kakashi said warily, straightening slowly.  “Why did you wait so long to kill him?”

“I only just arrived on his trail; I’ve been tracking his movements for days.  I got here just as the water prison broke and was waiting for a clear path, which was only just provided.”  Without waiting for approval the hunter vanished in a swirl of wind and leaves, reappearing beside the fallen man to reach down and feel for a pulse.  “He is deceased.  Would you care to confirm it before I dispose of the body?”  There was a certain amused, yet cold tone that the young man – or woman – spoke with.  Kakashi knelt to feel Zabuza’s neck.

“He’s dead.  Go ahead.”  With a curt nod the masked ninja leaned down, lifting the much larger man onto one shoulder and turning to regard Kakashi again.

“Best of luck in your mission.  I apologize on behalf of my village for the trouble Zabuza has caused you.”  He raised a hand in a seal, and in another swirl of wind was gone.  An eerie quiet fell over the scattered group, lasting for a long minute before Kakashi sighed, lowering his hitai-ate back to its normal position.

“Status,” he asked tiredly as he and Sasuke made their way back to the others, the group of Narutos letting them pass while they looked around cautiously.

“Tazuna-san is safe, as are Naruto and I,” Hinata said shakily, calming down slowly.  “Sasuke didn’t take any damage either.  Are you alright, sensei?”

“Yes, thanks to you all,” he beamed, looking at each of them in turn.  “I guess I shouldn’t be impressed by now that you all can think on your feet, but well done.  Dinner’s on me when we get back to Konoha.”  Hinata almost giggled, and Sasuke even allowed himself a small smirk.  “I appreciated the sentiment when you challenged Zabuza, Naruto, but next time you don’t have to be so dramatic.”  To his surprise, Naruto didn’t respond immediately.  Or at all.  “Naruto?”

Kakashi turned in time to see the remaining shadow clones go up on a cloud of smoke, the original falling forward in what seemed like slow motion.  He didn’t even have time to think about moving before Hinata was at Naruto’s side, catching him before he struck the ground.  Sasuke was right behind her, kneeling by his friend and looking worried.

“Naruto . . .” Hinata breathed, lowering him carefully down and turning him over.  His eyes were closed, breathing shallow, and his face was ashen with a cold sweat had breaking on his brow.  “Naruto!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back! Got finished with my cross-country ride and started writing almost immediately. I did miss it.
> 
> Just a few notes, the first of which is to thank my beta, Rhi. This chapter had a lot of issues that she painstakingly helped me fix.
> 
> Secondly, I hope you didn’t find this chapter too boring. For those familiar with the canon yes, it is very close to it, largely with changes only to the conversation and a few additional scenes. I made some assumptions and took some liberties, but overall it turned out as expected. The next chapter is where I expect the real changes to start coming in to play, so stay tuned.
> 
> Lastly, I wanted to address a common concern voiced in reviews: the extreme-ness of Hyuga Hiashi. I will agree and say I did overdo it at some points, but I do have a reason for it that does tie into the AU. In the canon Hinata wasn’t around Naruto, and here she was with him nigh constantly for 5-6 years. I went off of the assumption that Hiashi would look at Naruto with the same disdain the rest did, and his proximity to his daughter would only make it worse and subsequently he took it out on Hinata. Maybe I still took it too far even with that reasoning, but I have plans for him in the future regardless so don’t worry too much over it.
> 
> Thanks again for reading, following, and favoriting, and as always I welcome positive and negative reviews alike.


	7. Precious People

**_“Wake up.”_ **

Naruto winced at the thunderous noise, head pounding with the worst headache he’d ever experienced.  Leaden eyelids creaked open to a thankfully dull room, and for a long while all he could do was lay there, half submerged in an eerily familiar liquid.  Had he been here before?  The ceiling was lost in darkness far above, and shadows played high along the wall.  It wasn’t until his half-lidded eyes found the colossal metal bars that he sat bolt upright in sudden realization.  He regretted the movement immediately, clutching at his head and stomach as the world spun for a few minutes.

 ** _“Slow down,”_** the reverberating bass voice growled, **_“You nearly died.  Again.”_**   A touch of amusement touched the grating voice, though the words resounded with anger.

“How?” Naruto asked weakly, one eye moving slowly up to meet the red glow of the Kyuubi’s eyes.

 ** _“Fool.  Surely you were taught that chakra exhaustion can kill you.  What did you think would happen if you summoned as many clones as you were capable of creating?”_** The demon’s growl had turned from angry to mocking, eliciting an annoyed shrug from Naruto.

“I’ve never had to worry about my chakra before; everybody always says I have more than most people.”

 ** _“You really are as dumb as you look.  The only reason you have so much chakra is because I’m here.”_**   Naruto blinked at that, raising a quizzical eyebrow.  The room shook and a sound like an avalanche reverberated through the chamber.  It took him a moment to realize that the Kyuubi was laughing at him.  **_“You’re not special, kid, just lucky.  In order to contain me you had to develop larger chakra coils, something that happened gradually over your life.  The result was a higher chakra capacity, but it’s not unlimited like you seem to think, even if my chakra is mingling with yours more freely these days.”_**

Naruto felt like vomiting.  Well, more than he had already, at least.  “Lucky?” he muttered, scowling at the rippling reflections in the water.  “I’m lucky to have you here?  Lucky to be an orphan?  Lucky to have the whole village hate me because of you?”  He spat the words with all the vehemence he could muster.  The corners of his eyes stung as tears threatened to fall.  The mocking laughter continued.

 ** _“You’ve hardly lived a decade and think you know something of hardship, boy?”_** The words stung and deepened the blond’s glower.  **_“You are the way you are today due to your menial suffering; you are stronger for it.  Don’t wallow in the past and feel sorry for yourself, mortal.”_** Naruto shook his head and opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off.  **_“You think I don’t understand?”_** The roar increased in volume, unbridled fury and contempt filling every syllable.  **_“I’m forced to live inside of you, a prisoner for the rest of your damned life, and will ultimately die with you.  I’ve been here since the beginning; I’ve heard every sound you’ve heard, seen every scene you’ve witnessed, felt everything emotion you’ve experienced.  I know more about you than you do.  What makes you think I don’t understand?”_**

Naruto blinked again.  He’d never considered that.  It wasn’t nearly enough to feel sorry for the fox, but it was enough to make him think twice before he assumed anything else.

“Sorry,” he said finally.  It was the Kyuubi’s turn to blink this time.  The two luminous eyes shifted sideways, one rising over the other in what must have been a massive head cocking to the side.  “What?  That sounds like it sucks.  I know you’re a demon, _and_ that you destroyed my village once upon a time, and–”

 ** _“And that I killed countless villagers, including your parents?”_** the voice sneered.  A rumbling that could only be a cackle filled the air.  **_“I don’t need your sympathy, mortal child.”_**

“My . . .” Naruto choked, staring at the Kyuubi.  His bright blue eyes flickered to violet, wavering into the darkest indigo.  How could he not have considered it?  Mizuki had told him that the Kyuubi had attacked on the day he was born, and he had never known his parents.  Looking back it seemed obvious, and achingly painful.  Unbeknownst to him, the boy’s irises were taking on an increasingly reddish hue, pupils beginning to twitch and writhe.

 ** _“Calm down,”_** the fox demon sighed, **_“You’ll have your chance later.  I need to give you a warning before you wake up.”_**   Naruto could hardly think straight, but noted the words enough to snarl towards the voice.  **_“You seem like a reckless kid.  I know you don’t care what happens to me, but I have a vested interest in your survival.  Next time you use up all of your chakra like that, you’ll probably die.  I was barely able to pry the seal open enough to siphon a sliver of chakra into you, and it was all that kept you alive.”_** Naruto blinked again at that, but didn’t lessen any of the malice he was projecting at the creature.  **_“Next time you feel like doing something stupid, try discussing it with me first and maybe I can stop you from killing yourself.  Time passes differently in here; this conversation has taken only a fraction of a second in the real world._**

“Who were they?” he asked quietly, voice a forced calm through clenched teeth.  “Who were my parents?”  His ears were met only with more deep, echoing cackles that faded into the recesses of his mind.  The world began spinning, and Naruto started shouting, a furious scream directed at the Kyuubi no Kitsune.  He carried on until his thoughts were once again swallowed in darkness, but no matter how loud he yelled the taunting laugh of the fox never left his mind.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

“Naruto!  Snap out of it and calm down!”  Kakashi’s voice rang out clear, followed swiftly by a sharp pain to his cheek.

Color swirled outward from the center of his vision, the world filling in again until it reached the edges.  Naruto blinked several times as the room he was in seemed to sway back and forth before a gentle hand pressed against his chest and pushed him back down; he had apparently been sitting upright and thrashing about in his sleep.  From what could be seen he was in a small room, laying on a comfortable bedroll.  The walls were bare wood and few furnishings beyond a desk and a dresser occupied the area.  _A bedroom,_ he thought blearily, fighting against the painful pressure between his eyes.

“Didn’t have to hit me,” he finally mumbled, licking at his chapped lips.  “What happened?”

“You fell unconscious after the skirmish with Zabuza; according to Hinata you had almost no chakra left, and you _should_ have died.”  Kakashi seemed calm, but there was a hint of concern in his words.  “I told you that version of the technique was forbidden for a reason; you didn’t have to make so many.”

“To be fair,” Sasuke said dryly, grinning very slightly despite himself, “We might not have pulled it off otherwise.  The chaos he caused was vital to the plan, and we may not have saved you if he had made too few.  Call it a . . . Calculated risk?”  Kakashi shook his head before taking a firm tone.

“Look, I know that you think what you did was necessary, and I’ll admit it worked out this time, but it could just have easily killed you.  Not to mention, if your plan had failed you would have all died.”  He let that sink in for a moment before continuing.  “If ever I tell you to run again, do it, and don’t argue.  Understand?”

“No, sensei,” Naruto said tiredly, trying to move again.  That same gentle hand pushed him down a second time, though his aching limbs didn’t argue.  “You taught us yourself that those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.  None of us were going to leave you there, so you can forget about it.  Just try not to get caught again.”  He tried his hand at a laugh but it came out as a rasp.  “By the way, how long have I been unconscious?”

“Almost two days.”  Hinata spoke this time, her voice quiet and tense.  He realized then that it had been her hand making sure he hadn’t moved around, and it was still resting lightly on his chest.  She sat next to him, legs folded beneath her and leaning forward slightly.  The veins surrounding her eyes were receding, but even as they vanished he could see dark lines left in their wake, like thick spider webs just under the skin.  They – like the dark circles under her eyes – contrasted sharply with her pale features.

“Hinata, Sasuke,” Kakashi said quietly, not taking his eye from Naruto.  “Will you go get some food and water from downstairs?”  Sasuke looked from his friend to Kakashi once before shrugging and standing, walking towards the door on the far side of the room.  Hinata chewed on her lower lip for a moment, before nodding quickly and rising to follow after him.  As soon as the door closed, Kakashi continued in the same subdued tone.  “She hasn’t left your side since we arrived last night; she would have carried you the rest of the way had I not insisted on doing it.”  Naruto said nothing, staring blankly at the ceiling.  “Sasuke has tried to pretend he hasn’t been worried, but he’s been up here to check on you as often as he could when not on duty protecting Tazuna.  Your friends truly care about you, Naruto.  If for no other reason, that is why you should be more careful.”  The boy blinked towards him, obviously not yet comprehending.  “You’re right about what I said, and I think you made the right decision in the end.  But when you put your life in danger, when you choose a course of action that could kill you, it’s not you that suffers most.  It’s those close to you.”  Naruto lowered his head back to the pillow, eyes returning to the wooden ceiling.  They were shimmering slightly in the light.  “Just remember that, Naruto.  I had the same talk with the other two.  I want to thank you, as I thanked them, for saving my life, as well as for saving each other’s.  If you won’t run, which I can’t blame you for deciding, at least remember to be cautious, and understand your own limits.”  He got a nod out of the blond, causing him to grin and ruffle the boy’s hair.

The door opened and Hinata came through, carefully carrying a plate and two canteens presumably filled with water.  It appeared that Sasuke had not returned with her.  Kakashi didn’t have to hide the knowing look, taking the mask for granted as he stood and stepped away from his student.  “You’ll be out of commission for another few days while you recover.  Try not to move too much until tomorrow; I’ll be back to check on you in the morning.”  With that he winked at Hinata, an action that was almost missed entirely due to him having only one eye to work with.  The door closed behind him a moment later, leaving only Naruto and Hinata in the dimly lit room.

She set the plate down carefully, laying one of the canisters of water beside it.  The other she brought to his side, sitting down again before unscrewing the cap and settling a straw inside.  Naruto groaned and tried to sit up, but the same patient hand kept him down before moving to help lift his head to the straw.  Despite his condition he managed to blush a little, more embarrassed than anything that he had to be helped to drink.  He sipped slowly at the water, resisting the urge to take too much too fast.  He had learned the hard way that that was a good way to get sick, or simply throw it back up.

After about a minute of slow sips he glanced up at Hinata.  She hadn’t said a word throughout the ordeal, for all the world appearing to be calm and collected.  He could see the dark circles under her eyes more clearly now, the lingering veins to either side of her eyes more pronounced.  It took him a moment to realize that she must have been far overusing her Byakugan for it to have gotten that bad; he had seen it happen once during a particularly long day of chakra control training, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as this.

“Hinata, are . . .”  He struggled for the right words for a moment, working through the headache and still fuzzy thoughts.  “Are you okay?”  Smooth as silk.  For what felt like a full minute she looked down at him, at some point taking to biting at her lower lip again.  He knew it as one of her several nervous habits, but it was starting to looked chapped for how often she must have chewed at it over the last day and a half.  Kakashi had been right.

His head fell back on the pillow suddenly, and before he could think to lift it there was a pressure on his chest quite a bit heavier than the gentle hand that had been there a few minutes earlier.  When he did manage to lift his head all he could see was the top of Hinata’s head, ebony strands sticking out every which way.  She had, more or less, fallen forward onto his chest, burying her face there and clutching tight at the blanket that covered him.  His voice caught in his throat and he simply lay there, simultaneously feeling awkward and trying to figure out why he felt like crying all of a sudden.  It was another long minute or two before she finally spoke, her voice no louder than a whisper.

“When you woke up,” she started, voice trembling, “Y-you were yelling.  You sounded so angry, and you were fighting against Kakashi like you . . . Like you were trying to hurt him.”  Naruto blinked at that.  He remembered the dream with the Kyuubi clearly, but he hadn’t realized that the line between reality and his mind had been blurred.  “A-and your eyes, N-Naruto-kun!  Your eyes were red, like they were back then, in the . . . In the forest.”  She broke off then, and for a time he wasn’t sure if she was crying or simply trembling harder against him.

“I’m sorry,” he said finally, very quietly, the words coming out thick.  “I had . . . I had a bad dream.”

“That’s not true.”  Hinata’s voice wasn’t quite hard, but it was firm in a way he had never heard before.  It was a little disconcerting, even.  “I saw you just after you collapsed; I saw the orange chakra surge into your system.  Just now it was rising in you again.  I _saw_ it . . .”  Her voice trailed off, as if she was uncertain what she had actually seen.  “I don’t know what it was, b-but I–”  She cut off abruptly as Naruto’s hand rested upon her shoulder, hesitating a moment before it moved to press against her upper back in a slightly awkward but fierce one-armed hug.  Her friend had moved to prop himself up a little against the wall, a movement she hadn’t even noticed in her rush to get her words out.  Hinata let her hands fall from his chest and tucked her arms beneath him, returning the embrace with just as much fervor.

Naruto wasn’t sure how long they sat there, or when the tears had started; or where they had ended, for that matter.  All he knew was that at some point Hinata had fallen asleep, the steady rise and fall of his chest matching her own before long.  It was clear that she had been even more exhausted than he, and if what Kakashi had said was true then she needed the rest.  He carefully pulled a blanket from beside the bedroll, unfolding it with one hand and using the other to tug it gently over his friend’s slumbering form.

The last thing he remembered before drifting off was that it was time to be honest with Hinata and Sasuke.  After this mission was over, he’d tell them about the Kyuubi, consequences be damned.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

“So you’re telling me that you slept together like that, and _nothing_ happened?” Sasuke asked dubiously, exaggerating the tone just to see if he could get Hinata to turn a deeper shade of red.  The normally withdrawn boy got a kick out of teasing her; it was one of the few things that still made him laugh, even if it was only a small chuckle.  “Not even a little peck on the cheek?”

“No!” she said frantically, squeezing her eyes shut and clamping her hands over her ears.  “I mean – yes, _nothing_ Sasuke!”  Hinata wasn’t actually speaking very loudly, although she was doing her best to convey her protests through hushed tones.  She dropped her hands to her sides and continued intently examining the stone floor, trying not to think about when Sasuke had come to get her that morning.  He had already taunted her about it several times over the course of the morning and early afternoon, making sure to describe to her how ‘cute it looked’.  He’d also never neglected to mention the bit of drool she had been accumulating at the corner of her mouth.

“Whatever you say, Hinata,” he sighed, nodding sagely.  “You two did look pretty cute and comfy there.”  As expected, the poor girl went from critical to nuclear in the color department.  “Alright alright, I’ll stop.  Kakashi sent me to relieve you.”  She nodded without looking at him, which made him roll his eyes.  “C’mon Hinata.  It’s obvious you like him, and have for a while.  Just tell him already.”

“I c-can’t!” she squeaked, finding her voice finally only to cover her mouth a moment later.  “I-I mean I don’t!  We’re friends!”  Sasuke gave her a flat look, then raised a hand and flicked her lightly between the eyes.  The simple action made her flinch, then sigh and deflate, falling to sit on the railing just behind her.  “It’s not . . . That simple.”  That was true enough, at least.  Sure she had admired Naruto for years, and had some unspoken affection for him for some time, but they had also been friends for nearly six years.  Not to mention they were living in the same apartment now and any admission would complicate things.  Sasuke shrugged but nodded.

“I know.  But he likes you too; I just don’t think he’s really figured it out yet.”  Hinata blinked at that, big eyes getting even larger in genuine surprise.  Again Sasuke rolled his eyes, moving to lean against the railing a few steps away.  She opened her mouth to speak but he held up a hand.  There was the shadow of a smirk tugging at his lips.  “Honestly you’re almost as clueless as he is,” he sighed, chuckling again as she gave him her best glare.  It might have terrified a butterfly.  “Look, maybe it’s hard, and maybe it’s complicated, but the sooner you confess to him the better.”  Sasuke’s voice took on a serious tone, growing more solemn by the word.  “We all saw how fleeting life can be for a ninja out in the field.”  She bit her lip and nodded.  He hadn’t needed to finish the thought.

Hinata left the bridge and overseeing Tazuna to Sasuke shortly thereafter, making her way back towards the house and thinking on the advice her friend had given.  It all _sounded_ good, and it _seemed_ reasonable, but she was so unsure.  Naruto was brave, confident, funny; he was everything she wasn’t.  She didn’t deserve somebody like that, not even as a friend, and let alone as anything closer.  How would he react if he knew how she felt?  The thought of rejection took a comfortable back seat to the fear of losing one of her only friends.

 _I can’t,_ she reasoned as she wandered towards the house, in no hurry to get back.  _I’m not . . ._ What?  Pretty enough; strong enough; funny enough; confident enough; _good enough._   The list went on in her head, an all too familiar repetition.  Before long she had burrowed thoroughly into misery, stopping at a small grassy vale in the midst of another volatile thought.  The sun shone down from above, warming her mind and body alike, a distraction from the downward spiral for a moment at least.

She had been standing still, taking in the afternoon sun when she realized that there was another person nearby, almost directly in front of her in fact.  Hinata blinked and tensed reflexively before she noted that it was only a girl, dressed in a pale pink kimono with dark swirl patterns throughout.  The girl was smiling at her, bowing towards Hinata as soon as she was noticed.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” the girl began, blushing lightly.  “I was just out gathering herbs and saw you passing by.”  She tilted her head, concern evident on her features.  “Is something wrong, by chance?”

“No it’s alright,” Hinata responded with a demure smile, dipping her head in a polite bow.  “And nothing’s . . .”  She hesitated.  “Well, it’s something, but not important . . .”  She smiled again, though it was only half-hearted.  The stranger frowned slightly and tilted her head the other way.

“Is it about somebody that’s important to you?”  The question was an innocent one, though the way the girl asked it implied that it carried much more weight than it might seem.  Hinata blinked at her for a moment, then nodded slowly, trying her best not to flush when she thought about Naruto.  The other girl smiled knowingly – and a little sadly, Hinata thought.  “Ah, it’s always hard to handle things when somebody we care about it is involved, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” she replied, returning the ambiguous smile with one of her own.  She took a moment then to assess the stranger, realizing that she couldn’t have been much older than herself.   The girl was petite, and very pretty, with a smile that made Hinata feel warm inside despite the sadness it carried.  Her long, dark hair fell straight down, effortlessly framing a heart-shaped face.  “Ano . . . Do you live around here?  Oh, and what’s your name?”  Hinata chided herself for the complete lack of civility she had shown, not even exchanging simple pleasantries with a stranger.

“I’m from far away,” she replied, a touch of amusement in her tone.  “My name is Haku.”  Hinata blinked.  Wasn’t Haku more of a boy’s name?  “What about you?  I can tell from your hitai-ite that you’re a ninja, at least.”

“My name is Hinata,” she answered, though hesitated before responding to the unasked question.  “I’m also from far away, on a mission for my village.”  Hinata knew never to reveal where she was from or any details of a mission to an outsider.  Missions were even to be kept secret from villagers and only discussed within the team and with authorized parties, such as clients and the Sandaime.  She had revealed only common knowledge that anyone might assume.

“I see.  Being a ninja is scary, isn’t it?”  Haku seemed almost painfully sympathetic, though she appeared to gain a bit of levity as she continued.  “Going off around the world on dangerous missions, I mean.  And,” she ventured, raising an eyebrow, “I bet you’re also scared for your important person, huh?”  The girl smiled at Hinata’s reaction – a definite blush now – and shook her head, stepping closer and further into the glade.

“O-of course, Haku-chan” Hinata stuttered at first, catching herself and evening her voice quickly after the hastily-added honorific.  “It’s only sensible to be scared; it helps you prepare for what’s to come.”  Haku seemed to sense that the other girl was merely reciting something that had been memorized and repeated numerous times.  She shook her head, smiling that sad smile again.

“I see.  You are braver than I, Hinata-chan.  You’re very pretty, too, and I think you possess a strength like few I have ever met.”  Haku quelled the other girl’s oncoming protests with another headshake, her hand rising to lightly touch her fingertips on Hinata’s cheek.  The Hyuga girl could do little but blink and turn red, muttering something about misconceptions or the time.  Haku beamed at her for a moment before returning to her sad smile.  “Protect your important people, Hinata-chan.  I can see you care for them very deeply.  Real, pure strength comes from the will to protect those you care for.  Don’t forget that.”  With a last knowing, wistful smile, Haku turned and walked back from where she had come, stopping and turning her head to the side at the edge of the clearing.  “I hope we see each other again soon, Hinata-chan.  Oh,” she added almost as an afterthought, the first genuine grin spreading over the fine features, “And I’m actually a boy, but you can still call me Haku-chan if you really want to.”

A moment later he was gone, leaving a very confused and very red Hinata in his wake.  The encounter had caught her completely off balance, from start to finish.  Haku had come and gone in the span of a few short minutes, and in that time she felt like she had come to know the boy in some intimate way.  It was like trying to remember a dream the morning after, just a feeling always out of reach.  She shook her head, starting at a brisk jog towards Tazuna’s house.  If anything the brief interaction had instilled her with some amount of hope; somebody’s first impression of her had been _good_.  Not only that, but in a way Haku had echoed what Sasuke had told her not twenty minutes earlier.  A very small, but very real seed of determination formed inside of her.

_I can._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

“Naruto was able to get up and walk for a few minutes,” Sasuke reported, sinking onto a chair in Tazuna’s small kitchen.  It was getting late in the evening, and the rest of the household had retired save for Kakashi.  “He’s eating on his own again, too; that guy sure recovers fast.”

“Mm,” Kakashi murmured, eye shifting from his book to the boy.  “What did you want to talk about, Sasuke?”  The Uchiha gave him a lengthy, even look before continuing calmly.

“I want to know why you have a Sharingan,” he asked bluntly, eyes hovering over his teacher’s hidden eye.  “It’s an Uchiha bloodline trait, and I know for a fact that you’re not from my clan; only Itachi and I are left.”  Despite his practiced calm, Sasuke’s eyebrow twitched at the mention of his brother’s name.  Even Kakashi’s eye softened and looked back to his book.  The boy said nothing else, watching the jounin until he finally sighed, setting the novel down and turning his full attention to Sasuke.

“Do you want the whole story, or only why I have it?” he asked seriously, making the boy think for a moment before responding.

“The whole story; I can already assume how you might have gotten ahold of a Sharingan.  I want to know why, and the story behind how.”  Kakashi studied him for a moment before nodding.  Sasuke didn’t seem angry, only curious and a bit confused.  It was only natural that the last surviving member of the Uchiha – at least, the only one not a missing-nin – would want to know how an outsider came to be in possession of one of the most powerful doujutsu.

“I’m not of the Uchiha clan, you’re right.  As a matter of fact my body can’t handle the stress involved with the extended use of the Sharingan, although I’ve become more conditioned to it over the years.”  He paused for a long moment, his eye glazing over slightly.  “Shortly after I became a jounin, we were in the midst of the Third Ninja War.  I was tasked to lead a team to destroy a bridge that was vital to our enemies’ mobility and communication.”

“Wait, the Third Ninja War?” Sasuke asked dubiously, raising an eyebrow at Kakashi.  “I’m not sure how old you are now, but if I had to guess that would make you a jounin at age . . . Ten?  Eleven?”

“Nine,” Kakashi responded with a shrug.  It was obvious from his posture and expression that he wasn’t interested in making a big deal out of it.  Sasuke blinked several times, leaning back in his chair with a newfound respect for the man.  “Something went wrong on our mission, though, and one of our members was captured.  Back then, I . . .”  He sighed, rubbing a hand over his eye and suddenly looking older and very tired.  “I thought the laws and guidelines of our village were more important than the lives of my comrades.  My other teammate, Uchiha Obito, wanted to go rescue Rin, but I chose to complete the mission instead.  He disobeyed my commands and left to help our comrade.”  He was quiet for a long while then, eye still unfocused and bearing a detached expression.

“I thought–” Sasuke began, cut off almost immediately by Kakashi.

“I didn’t always believe what I do now.  There was a time that I valued a mission objective more than I did the lives of my team and friends.”  Despite the faraway look, there was a note of regret evident in the man’s tone.  It was enough to make Sasuke close his mouth and decide not to interrupt further.  “But Obito changed my mind in the end.  To make a long story short, we fought our way into the cave Rin was being held in, and I lost my eye in the skirmish.  One of our enemies brought the cave down on us, and Obito sacrificed his life to save mine.”  He was quiet for a moment, and after a time his eyes refocused on Sasuke.  “In his last moments he imparted his Sharingan to me.  Rin transplanted it herself using a special medical ninjutsu, and we were able to escape with the help of our sensei, Namikaze Minato.”

“Your teacher was the Yondaime?!” Sasuke blurted out, eyes widening a little.

“Aye, though that was before he became Hokage.  At the time, however, he was known as Konoha’s Yellow Flash.”  Kakashi watched his student for a few minutes.  Sasuke was mulling the information over, nodding to himself once or twice before readdressing Kakashi.

“Alright.  Thanks, Kakashi-sensei.”  The older ninja nodded, and after a moment’s hesitation Sasuke continued.  “Do you think . . . Once I awaken my Sharingan that you could help me learn how to use it?  I was always told it would come naturally, like an innate ability, but I ah . . .”  He trailed off, searching for words that wouldn’t entirely give away his intent.  “I feel like there’s more to the Sharingan than that,” he finished a bit lamely, looking away.  Kakashi stared at him for a few seconds, wondering what secrets the boy was hiding.

“I can,” he ventured tentatively, not wanting to commit fully to the request just yet.  “That is, assuming the Sharingan manifests itself in you.”

“It will,” Sasuke replied firmly, with a fierceness he had not intended.  It was one of the few times Kakashi had ever heard that much emotion in the boy’s voice.  “It has to.”  Again a considerable time passed as they looked at one another, Sasuke with his determined expression and Kakashi with a calculating look.

“Alright, I’ll teach you what I can when the time comes, on one condition.”  Sasuke raised an eyebrow.  “If I tell you I won’t teach you something, you don’t question me.  I expect you to trust I have good reason for it.  Understand?”  The Uchiha nodded slowly, shrugging noncommittally at the same time.  He had little choice if he wanted an experienced Sharingan user as a mentor, and he could cross the forbidden bridge when it came to that.

Sasuke slid into his bedroll a few minutes later, turning over the conversation in his mind.  He, Kakashi, and Hinata were sharing a room to give Naruto some peace and quiet to recover, though Hinata would be late coming down from attending to Naruto and Kakashi liked to read into the night sometimes.

 _He knows,_ Sasuke thought to himself as he forced his mind to clear and be at ease.  _He knows I want to know more about the Mangekyou Sharingan.  There’s got to be another way to activate it; there has to be._   Naruto’s words, spoken after the Uchiha massacre, rang through his head, and he couldn’t help but smile faintly.  _If it’s not possible, it’s not possible, but I won’t give up on getting stronger no matter what.  I’m coming for you.  One day, Itachi._

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

“I _still_ can’t leave?” Naruto asked indignantly, looking crestfallen.  “It’s been four days since we got here!  Hinata says my chakra is almost back to normal and all I’ve done is rest!”

“One more day, just to be safe,” Kakashi chided sternly, adding in a cautionary measure a moment later.  “Besides, remember what we talked about: Zabuza may still be alive.  The way that hunter-nin handled the situation just doesn’t sit right with me.  We need somebody to stay here and watch Inari and Tsunami.  Keep your radio on and call if there’s any trouble.”

“Yes, sensei,” he sighed, slumping back down to sit at the dock’s edge.  Tazuna’s house was on the shoreline, and Naruto had taken to spending the last few days basking in the fresh sea air while working some minor chakra exercises.  Against Kakashi’s – and Hinata’s – wishes, he had also made sure to keep up a physical regimen as well.

“Good.  We’re going to escort Tazuna to the bridge; Hinata and I will be back soon enough.  Let’s move out.”  Kakashi turned then, stepping off of the dock and making his way towards the trees.  Tazuna and Sasuke were on his heels, and Hinata followed after a moment lingering and glancing back to Naruto.

“Man, this sucks,” the blond muttered after a few minutes of listening to the morning’s sounds.  Birds chirped overhead and in the trees, planks creaked against the soft breeze, and the surf lapped rhythmically against the sand below.  Normally he might find such serenity a welcome escape, but after being put on ‘rest duty’ for days he was getting restless.  Not to mention that Kakashi had informed them of his concerns about Zabuza the day before; could he really be alive?  It sounded plausible, the way his teacher had described near-death states and the senbon, but Zabuza had seemed so . . . Well, dead.

Before he could get too wrapped up in thought, Inari – Tazuna’s grandson – came out of the house, walking over to take a seat next to Naruto.  He kept looking towards the ocean, letting the young boy gather his own thoughts.  The previous days had been contentious, to say the least; Tsunami’s son had been plagued with doubt, defiance, and petulance, spurning Team Seven from the day they had arrived.  He was making some progress, though; it was one of the good things that came from staying at the house.

“Naruto niichan,” he started quietly, looking down at his hands.  “Yesterday when you said that stuff about Gatoh and, well . . . Do you really think you can beat him?”  Naruto looked down at the small boy, his teeth flashing in a broad grin.

“Hell yeah!  Tazuna-san said that they’ll be done with the bridge soon, and we’ve beaten everything that jerk has thrown at us.  No problem, Inari!”  The child stared up at him for a few seconds, tears welling in his eyes before he hurriedly wiped them away with a sleeve.  Naruto smiled again and put a hand on Inari’s head, ruffling his hair a little.  “You’re a good kid.  Remember what I said about crying, though; you’ve gotta be strong for your mom.  But it’s alright to cry when you’re happy.”

“How’d you learn to be so brave?” Inari asked through a few sniffles, lowering his sleeve to look up at the older boy that he’d come to respect over the last several days.  “What if I can’t?”

“I had a really good teacher,” Naruto laughed.  It was true, by and large, though not the whole truth.  Inari didn’t need to hear the way he had grown up; the kid had already been through enough of his own pain.  “And I know you can, Inari.  You’ve got it inside of you, just like everyone.  You just need to believe it as much as I do.”  Inari looked doubtful and a little confused, but Naruto noticed neither as the little radio in his ear buzzed.

 _“Naruto!”_ Kakashi’s voice called, sounding urgent.  The frequency was ridden with static and getting worse, the white noise growing louder by the second.  _“—d you at—_ _”_   The line continued to break up, the last broken words that came through hardly heard over the din of static.  _“—buza – nd th – unter nin—_ _”_ There was a loud pop in Naruto’s ear and he had to rip the device away before it ruptured his eardrum.

“Inari, I have to go.  Take your mom and—”

“I don’t think so,” drawled a bored-sounding voice.  Naruto whirled towards the shore, where two surly-looking thugs stood with their arms folded, each sporting a katana at his hip.  “Can’t believe we got sent to kill a bitch and some kids,” the grey-haired one said, rolling his eyes and casually drawing the blade.

“What’s going on out here?”  The door to the house opened and Tsunami stepped out, blinking in the sunlight.  She gasped and stepped back once, hand raising to her mouth in shock.  “Inari, come inside!”  The boy looked frightened, his eyes wide, and he stood frozen next to Naruto.

“I’ll get her,” the other man – sporting an eye-patch – said with a wicked grin, “You kill the ninja kid.”  He stepped casually towards the doorway, beckoning with one hand as he drew the katana with the other.  “Come on pretty girl; we’ve got plans for you.”  He licked his lips and advanced on her, the same disturbing smile on his face the whole way.

Before Naruto could stop him Inari had charged forward, shouting in a high-pitched, fearful voice.  “Y-you get away from my mom!”  He had nothing to defend himself or his mother with, but he ran at the man as fast as he could, fists raised and ready to go down fighting to protect his mother.

Luckily, Naruto didn’t quite fit the average description of ‘ninja kid’.  In a blur of motion he had dashed forward and past Inari, a fist of shuriken flying at the first thug as he rushed the second.  They may have talked tough, but they weren’t much higher on the ladder than the average mercenary.  The grey-haired man cursed, dodging and deflecting the projectiles while Naruto closed on his partner.

“Little shits!” Eye-Patch yelled, bringing his sword down in a strong slash.  Naruto deflected it easily with the kunai in his left hand, pivoting and driving a vicious blow into the man’s torso.  His adversary buckled, and without losing momentum he drove a knee into the thug’s nose.  The satisfying and sickening crunch of breaking bone and cartilage preceded the _thud_ of the man’s limp body striking the wooden porch.

The other man had charged forward after deflecting the shuriken, but faltered as he saw how decisively Naruto had taken out his companion.  The blond took advantage of the moment’s hesitation and flicked a kunai towards him, forcing the bewildered man to dodge, an action that ultimately harmed more than it helped.  Naruto leapt from a sprint, calculating the dodge just before the jump in order to land a spinning round kick into the side of his opponent’s head.  The second would-be assassin fell heavily to the ground, unconscious before he struck the earth.

“Inari, Tsunami; get these two tied up and then get somewhere safe!” he shouted over his shoulder, already running towards the bridge at a dead sprint.  The communication had been broken up, but he had heard enough to put the pieces together.  Zabuza was alive, and he was at the bridge with the hunter-nin.  Kakashi had been right after all.  Naruto ground his teeth and willed himself faster as he bounded into the trees, branches groaning under his feet as he forced more chakra into them.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

“Hinata, take the hunter-nin.  Sasuke, protect Tazuna and stay close,” Kakashi murmured, pulling his forehead protector up to reveal his Sharingan.  “I won’t lose to Zabuza this time, I promise.”  His students nodded sharply, already crouched into combat stances as they moved to obey.  “This mist is messing with the radios; I’m not sure if Naruto will be able to make it as backup, so don’t take any unnecessary risks.”

“Haku,” Zabuza muttered, too quiet for the others to hear, “Can you take the girl?  It looks like she intends to fight, and I’ll need my full attention to handle Kakashi.”

“I didn’t see her combat skills in your last skirmish, Zabuza-san, but you know as well as I that it’d be hard for any of them to keep up with me.  Except Kakashi, of course.”

“You’re no match for him,” Zabuza growled, eyeing the jounin that stood calmly ready several meters away.  “Keep the runts away while I deal with him.  Don’t get hit by the girl; she can shut down your tenketsu.”

“Yes, sir,” Haku whispered, and then he sped forward.  The motion stirred the air around him until it was a veritable maelstrom, surrounding him like a personal tornado.  He shot towards Hinata with unnatural speed, using the momentum of the spin the drive a senbon towards her unguarded side.  But she had been ready.

Hinata had tracked Haku’s movements, her Byakugan active and studying her attacker as he drew close.  At the last possible instant she bent backwards, the needle flying over her abdomen and missing by less than a centimeter.  She caught herself on one hand and used the force of her movement to turn it into a one-handed back handspring, using the other hand to send a kunai flying at the whirlwind.  It deflected but managed to steal Haku’s balance, forcing him to grind to a halt in a fighting stance.

“I don’t want to kill you,” Haku said softly, bearing a senbon in each hand, “But I will if you choose to continue.  It’s impossible for you to keep up with my speed.”

“I’m sorry, Haku-san,” Hinata all but whispered, real sadness in her eyes, “But will protect my friends with my life, just as you will protect yours.”  Haku blinked.  She had recognized him from the beginning.

“As you wish,” he returned, voice growing hard.  He rushed forward, clashing with Hinata and forming one-handed seals with his free arm with blinding speed.  Almost at the same moment that sparks flew from their weapons he muttered under his breath, “Hijutsu: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death”.  Hinata didn’t even have time to be baffled at the fact that he had used only one hand to form seals.  As they met Haku stomped his foot down, splashing standing water into the air around them, but it didn’t fall as Hinata expected.  Instead it twisted and congealed in the air, freezing and turning into hundreds upon hundreds of tiny needles of ice.

“Guardian Eight Divination Signs: Thirty-Two Palms!” Hinata gasped as Haku disengaged to allow his jutsu to do its work.  Even as the ice flew towards her Hinata’s arms were in motion, her palms aglow as chakra gathered within.  From her allies’ perspective it seemed that her arms simply turned into a blur beneath an odd, hazy dome of pure energy.  It took Sasuke a moment to realize that the haze was just chakra, fired at so many points with pinpoint precision that it created the odd illusion around her.

Unlike the more advanced jutsu she had attempted before, this was one Hinata knew.  It was not as fast as the more advanced variation, but it was enough for the task at hand.  Ice shattered in every direction, throwing up hundreds of clouds of mist around her.  For a moment she was lost amid the chakra haze and clouds of ice, and Haku had turned his attention towards Sasuke.  He seemed confident enough in his technique, at least until he was struck by a spinning kick that threw him from his feet with a grunt.

Hinata stood where he had just been, breathing slightly labored but otherwise in one piece.  She had a few cuts on her arms and legs, but seemed to have blocked or deflected the majority of the needles.  Haku skipped across the ground once before rolling into a crouch.  If he hadn’t been wearing his ANBU mask, they would have all seen his look of shock.  Nobody had ever survived at the center of that technique.  He would have understood if she somehow escaped it, perhaps leapt straight up or rolled to the side, however unlikely either of those would have been.  But she had stood her ground and come out virtually unscathed.

The Hyuga girl didn’t give him a chance to think it over.  She flew towards him in a black and beige blur, and it was all he could do to track her and keep up.  The next thirty seconds were maddeningly fast, and before long Hinata had _him_ on the defensive.  It was all he could do to dodge and deflect, let alone land a strike.  Her strange fighting style was unfamiliar to him, and he was loath to admit it but she was _faster_ than him.

A lightning fast reverse kick finally found Haku’s jaw, sending him spinning to land hard on the ground.  Hinata set her stance again, and was breathing hard with the strain of keeping up such an assault.  But he was in no better shape, especially after that hit.

“Haku, you’re going to lose at this rate,” Zabuza said calmly, loud enough for everybody to hear.  He hadn’t moved throughout the encounter, keeping the two in his peripheral vision while keeping a hard eye on Kakashi.  It wasn’t necessary to make his move yet.  “Get serious.”

“Yes, Zabuza-san; I will.”  As Haku straightened, inclining his head in what could only have been a measure of respect towards Hinata.  “I apologize,” he started quietly, the air around him beginning to visibly shift.  “I didn’t want to have to use this technique, but I have no choice.”  The air surrounding him turned so cold that Hinata could see the millions of water molecules surrounding him turn to ice, flowing outward as he lifted his hands and pressed them together in a modified tiger seal.  “Hijutsu: Demonic Ice Mirrors.”

The air surrounding Hinata suddenly dropped at least twenty degrees from its already frigid temperature.  Before she could take a step towards Haku, a piece of ice thrust upward in front of her, coalescing into a giant crystalline panel.  She pivoted and tried to move around it, but more identical mirrors had already half-formed all around her.  Even before she had time to blink again they had surrounded her, cutting her off behind a blockade of twelve perfectly symmetrical ice mirrors.  More floated above those, leaning inward to form a sort of roof, one final piece closing the very top to escape.

Haku moved forward quickly, taking advantage of the moment’s confusion.  Hinata saw him rush towards one of the mirrors, and then simply melt into it.  What should have been solid ice allowed him to flow smoothly in, and then a score of Hakus appeared around her, a perfect image of him reflected on every panel.  She couldn’t even tell them apart with her Byakugan.

“Hinata!” Kakashi shouted, dashing forward towards the structure.  His path was blocked almost immediately by Zabuza, who appeared to be grinning behind the bandages on his face.

“Your fight’s with me, Kakashi.  That girl’s as good as dead anyway, and you can’t afford to have me running around unchecked can you?”  Kakashi growled and crouched, drawing out his kunai.  He’d have to make this quick.

“Sasuke, support Hinata,” he called back sharply.  Sasuke blinked several times, about to ask why when three of Naruto’s clones landed beside him.  He barely hesitated before he rushed around the two jounin.  Zabuza twitched sideways but Kakashi just appeared in front of him, forcing the missing-nin to block a kunai thrust with his giant blade.  “Your fight’s with me, Zabuza,” Kakashi echoed tightly.

Sasuke made it to the crystals in seconds, skidding to a halt just on the outside.  From what he could tell the images were only on the inside, meaning it might be possible to disrupt them from outside.  He kicked at one as hard as he could but it barely shook.  Several fists of shuriken and a few kunai told him that weapons wouldn’t work against it either.

“Katon: Great Fireball!”  Fire roared from his mouth and hit the nearest ice mirror.  Nothing happened.  The flames splashed against the frozen water and dissipated; Sasuke might as well have blown air on them for all the jutsu had accomplished.

“Sasuke, he’s too fast,” cried Hinata from within the mirrors.  She was performing the repelling technique again, but now against what appeared to be hundreds of senbon flying at her from every direction.  One or two stuck out from each limb, slowing her movements noticeably and putting her in danger of taking more hits.  More still protruded from her torso and back.

Sasuke didn’t even realize he was moving until he was halfway to her, sprinting through the gaps in the ice to aid his friend however he could.  Fist after fist of shuriken flew out around Hinata, deflecting incoming senbon almost at random.  Almost.  As his heartbeat quickened time felt like it was slowing down, and he could just make out the weapons as they were coming in.  And there was something else, too.

“He’s jumping between mirrors,” Sasuke growled as he reached Hinata, covering her back and allowing her to focus her defense forward.  Of course, ‘covering’ meant that he was just taking the needles that she might otherwise have to while trying to deflect as many as possible, but at least she was no longer at risk of being hit with her full focus forward.  “Whatever this ability does it lets him move faster than we can see between the ice.”  Sasuke’s eyes were wide now, trying desperately to pick up on the movement he knew he could see.  It was like a dark spot in his eye that, when focused upon, disappeared from view.  No matter how hard he tried to follow the movements he couldn’t keep up.

Hinata cried out behind him as a senbon passed through her defenses, burying itself near the collarbone.  She faltered and fell to one knee as more deadly projectiles thrashed at her from every side.  It was all she could do to simply shield her head with her arms.  Even if the accuracy was low, there were enough of them flying around to do serious damage if it went on much longer.

 _I have to do something._   Sasuke ground his teeth and stepped nearer to Hinata, covering her as much as he could with his own body.  Pain lanced up every limb, across his back and chest, and he could feel blood trickling steadily from gashes and punctures around his neck and face.  _Have to do something.  There has to be a way to beat this.  If only I could see . . ._

Sasuke blinked.  His head had stopped spinning, and the world around him was moving so slow that he could see each individual senbon coming, like a fast punch rather than a speeding projectile.  He still had to work quickly, but even with burning muscles he deflected every one with a kunai in each hand.  But that wasn’t the interesting part.  It was still little more than a blur, but he saw Haku now.  The boy was leaping from mirror to mirror, needles flying from an ice panel every time he reached it before resurfacing and bounding to the next.  The movement was so fluid, so rapid that even with the slowed reality he could barely keep track.  But he _could_ keep track.

“Katon: Great Fireball!” he roared, timing it and aiming where he thought Haku would be.  The senbon stopped abruptly and Haku was rolling over the ground, flames licking at his left leg.  His eyes were wide beneath the mask.  It had to have been luck, he reasoned, flinging himself at the nearest mirror and sinking back into it.  There was no way the boy caught up to him.

 _Calmly,_ Sasuke reminded himself, raising his kunai again as the onslaught commenced.  Once again he battled the senbon, eyes darting back and forth, tracking the barely traceable movement.  He let three more blasts of flame go before another hit caught Haku, though this time it had caught his left shoulder.

“Impossible,” he said shakily, limping back into a mirror and breathing hard.  His voice echoed around them as he continued, forgoing his needles for a moment.  “You shouldn’t be able to see me, yet you’re tracking my movement close enough to strike me.  How—”  The image directly in front of Sasuke took a step back.  “Those eyes – you really are an Uchiha.”  Sasuke stared back defiantly, too exhausted to puzzle out the boy’s words.  If this went on much longer, he’d go down.

“Hinata,” he grunted, “We need to get out of here.  We need to . . .”  He trailed off, going very still as his eyes cast over his friend.  She was laying on the ground now, body limp.  It didn’t look like she was breathing.  Sasuke froze for the briefest moment, real terror filling him completely.

“Sasuke, Hinata!”  Naruto yelled, sprinting towards the icy prison.  He could see Sasuke there, and Hinata was next to him, but she was down.  He grit his teeth and cried out again.  “I’m coming!”  But the moment of fear and hesitation spelled the end for Sasuke.  A flood of senbon poured from behind him, and before he had turned halfway to deflect them it was too late.  Sasuke staggered back, blinking down at himself.  Needles protruded from everywhere, impaling him in several dozen places, some of which looked vital.  He turned slowly towards Naruto, their eyes meeting for a moment.  Naruto caught a glimpse of crimson irises inlaid with a single black tomoe.  And then Sasuke was falling.  Naruto broke through the circle just as his friend hit the ground.  “Sasu—”

Naruto stopped in his tracks.  Sasuke had fallen, bleeding and riddled with senbon, right next to Hinata.  They both lay very still, their faces pale as death itself.

“Sasuke . . .” Naruto rasped, falling to his knees.  “Hinata . . . chan . . .”  Tears were streaming down his face before he had time to register their coming.  His two friends were in front of him, and they were dead.  His best friends, the first two to ever recognize him.  He would never get the chance to help Sasuke fulfill his dream.  He would never be able to confess to Hinata how he felt, even if he didn’t know how to put it into words yet.  Pain unlike any he had ever experienced coursed through him, agony so deep it made his bones ache.  _This can’t be happening.  It isn’t._

“This is the world you live in, ninja.”  Haku’s voice echoed eerily through the otherwise silent chamber.  He was taking the moment to breathe and recover some; with only one left, there was no chance he would lose.  “We try to protect those we care about, but my desire was stronger this time.  I’m sorry.”  Though his voice was hollow, he did sound sincere.  No amount of sincerity mattered to Naruto, however.

 _“You . . .”_ Naruto snarled, the words coming out grated and distorted somehow.  The ground had begun to shake, and the air within the ring of mirrors started heating up and thickening.  _“You killed them,”_ he ground out through a clenched jaw, gums starting to bleed as human teeth elongated and sharpened into fangs.  _“I’ll kill you.”_   Clawed fingers dug into the stone, gouging out rifts in the bridge beneath him.  Naruto lifted his head slowly, his face shadowed until it was fully raised to the nearest mirror, blood red eyes seeming to look into every one of Haku’s reflections at the same time, murderous intent dancing in both snake-like slits.  _“I’LL KILL YOU.”_   The otherworldly roar shook the entire bridge, interrupting the fight between Zabuza and Kakashi and forcing all heads to turn towards the circle of ice mirrors.

A column of red-orange chakra erupted from where Naruto had been standing, consuming him in the malevolent haze.  The energy burned a hole straight through the topmost mirror, shattering it to pieces moments later.  Rivulets of chaotic chakra circled around him, cutting protective swaths around the bodies of his fallen friends.  The blast of power forced Zabuza to stumble back, and Kakashi had to brace himself to only slide back a few inches.

 _This chakra – the Kyuubi!_   _Naruto!_   Zabuza tsked and rushed in while Kakashi was distracted, forcing him back with a muttered curse.

Inside of Haku’s technique, the swirl of energy diminished slowly, settling to form a writhing ring of red around the now crouched Naruto.  He looked much as he had years before in the forest with Mizuki, feral and mad with bloodlust.  This time, however, the cloak of evil chakra stayed, coating him completely.  A tail-like protrusion stuck out from near his tailbone, whipping back and forth restlessly as if it had a mind of its own.  But it was the eyes that made Haku take a step back into his mirror.  Those scarlet orbs of malice, wrought with the purest hate.  They stared into Haku, and they could _see_ him.

 _I have to finish this now,_ Haku nearly panicked, trying to shake the paralyzing fear away.  But Naruto had already charged, and it was faster than anything he had ever witnessed.  The mirror exploded into a thousand shards as a clawed fist crashed through it with enough force to level a mountain.  The three adjacent mirrors all cracked and fell to pieces moments after, the shockwaves from the blow enough to do them in.  Haku had retreated instantly to another mirror, and Naruto’s eyes _followed_ him.  Almost as he entered the next panel Naruto was there, another fist raised to do the same damage as before.  Haku was forced to jump again, but that was exactly what the crazed genin had wanted.

Bones cracked as Naruto’s hand closed on Haku’s ankle, catching him before he was able to get a meter past the mirror.  _Impossible,_ he thought blankly, _That’s not possib_ _—_  Despite his disbelief, the next moment Haku slammed into the ground with another crunch of bone.  The ANBU mask cracked down the middle as his head hit the stone, halves falling away to reveal his still untouched face.  His leg jerked again and he found himself speeding through the so fast that the air was forced from his lungs.  An explosion of agony ripped through him as he was made into a living projectile, smashing through another of his mirrors like it had been made of brittle glass.

Haku’s limp, battered body hit the ground and tumbled over and over, rolling to a halt a few meters away from Kakashi.  The broken boy struggled to get up using what must have been a broken arm, making small groaning noises with each movement.  Kakashi noted that the lower portion of one leg had been crushed, and the rest of the boy looked almost as badly beaten.  Only then did he see his student walking towards them, still wreathed in a torrent of the Kyuubi’s chakra, projecting a killing intent so pure, so instinctual that it sent a shiver down his spine.  The hate was literally palpable; it thickened the air around Naruto, choking those nearby like too much heat in a closed sauna.  The boy’s eyes were fixed on Haku, his face contorted into a snarl, lips peeled back to bare his fanged teeth at his helpless adversary.

Zabuza moved in front of Haku, stone faced with his sword drawn.  A half dozen water clones appeared around Naruto a breath later, all charging and attacking at the same time.  They might as well have been gnats.  A wave of raw force screamed outward, colliding with the clones and dispersing them into clouds of steam.  He kept advancing slowly, ignoring Zabuza as if he wasn’t standing between Naruto and his quarry.

“Back off,” the jounin growled, readying his sword to defend Haku.  Naruto’s gaze snapped up to his for a fraction of a second, and for that moment he knew true fear.

Zabuza blinked down at his chest and bloodied hand, his vision abruptly very blurry.  It took a few long seconds to notice that a forearm was protruding from where his sternum should have been.  He followed it back to a shoulder swathed in heavy black cloth and red light, and finally landed on a familiar face.  Naruto stood in front of him, his arm raised _through_ Zabuza’s chest.  The boy growled, the noise guttural and sounding like it had come from a large and terrifying animal.  With a jerk of his arm he flung Zabuza to the side like a ragdoll, the still confused man falling onto his back a few meters away.

Naruto reached down with deliberate slowness, grasping Haku’s collar and lifting him effortlessly into the air to dangle helplessly.  Despite being ravaged and hardly alive, Haku met his opponent’s gaze without flinching and managed a tired smile.  A growl escaped Naruto’s throat again and he raised a fist, preparing to finish what he had started.  He didn’t hesitate, but a foreign pressure kept his arm from moving.

“Naruto,” Kakashi said quietly from beside him, hand braced against his student’s bicep in a vain attempt to hold back the blow.  It was like trying to stop an avalanche, but he held on and ground out his words.  “Naruto, come to your senses.  You don’t want to kill him; it isn’t you!”  He grunted, sliding back a few centimeters from the pressure.  His hand was beginning to burn inside of the foreign chakra; there were tendrils of smoke rising from his fingernails and the metal guard on the back of his hand had begun to blacken.

“N-Naruto . . .”  The choking gasp caused Naruto to freeze suddenly, the tension against Kakashi halting.  He turned his head slowly, eyes traveling back to where the shattered remains of Haku’s jutsu lay.  Sasuke was kneeling there, supporting Hinata on his shoulder and breathing heavily . . . But he was _alive_.  Hinata’s chest rose and fell sharply in shallow breaths, but she too lived, if barely.

As immediately as it had come, the raging power vanished.  Haku tumbled to the ground again as Naruto released his hold and sprinted towards his friends, eyes already returning to their normal blue.  Kakashi was left to stare after him, forgetting himself for a time before he straightened and went quickly to check on Zabuza.

“That kid . . .” the fallen ninja rasped, voice already weak.  “He ah . . . Surprised me I . . . I guess.”  He grunted, more blood spattering the bandages over his mouth.  “Hatake Kakashi,” he started again, tone heavy with weariness and growing quieter.  “Haku . . . He’s not like – He’s not like me.”  Zabuza’s voice grew urgent, as if he knew that only seconds remained to get out his last words.  “He’s . . . Kind – Doesn’t deserve this.”  He coughed again, sending his body into violent convulsions for several seconds.  When he recovered his eyes had glazed over and his voice had become thready.  “P-please . . . Let him . . . Let him . . . Live.”  A faint noise escaped the man’s lips as he exhaled his last breath, a sound that might have been a satisfied sigh.

Kakashi knelt next to the fallen ninja, running his hand over the man’s eyes and closing them permanently.  “I’ll honor your last request, Demon of the Hidden Mist.”  He rose then, glancing towards Tazuna to make sure he was alright before rushing to his team.

Naruto had them both laying on their backs now, the numerous senbon that would have hindered such a position discarded to the side.  He had Hinata’s head in his lap and was speaking softly to Sasuke, who seemed conscious despite the obvious pain he was in.

“I’m telling you he missed on purpose,” Sasuke said hoarsely, grunting in discomfort.  “He could have easily killed us both, but I think he put us in a near-death state, like he did for Zabuza.”

“He was trying to complete his mission without killing us . . .” Naruto breathed, fresh tears welling up at the corners of his eyes.  As Kakashi approached he couldn’t help but notice that the boy looked . . . Normal.  As if he hadn’t just unleashed an incredible torrent of energy and punched a hole through a man’s chest.  “Where is he now?”  Both Sasuke and Kakashi blinked.  Naruto looked from one to the other, then asked defensively, “What?”

“Naruto,” Kakashi said quietly, looking down at his student with hard eyes.  “Look at your right hand.”  Still holding on to a quizzical expression Naruto looked down.  It was his turn to blink.  From mid bicep to his fingertips, his arm had a solid coat of fresh blood.  He began trembling uncontrollably and had to set Hinata’s head down, standing too quickly and stepping back.

“No way,” he breathed, face turning white.  “That wasn’t real; it didn’t really happen.  I didn’t . . . I didn’t kill anybody.”  Naruto looked towards Kakashi, then to Sasuke, then back again, breathing quickening.  “I didn’t – I couldn’t.  I . . . I . . .”  His stomach heaved and he lurched to the side.  Kakashi was next to him in a heartbeat, steadying him and speaking as gently as he could.

“Naruto, calm down.  Take deep breaths.”  It seemed like a struggle, but after a time his breathing slowed and came back towards control again.  “You are a ninja of Konohagakure.  Sometimes you must kill to save your comrades lives and complete missions.  This is not the time to dwell on it; we need to get Sasuke and Hinata somewhere safe.”  _And Haku, it seems._

“Right, somewhere safe.”  Naruto seemed dazed but compliant, following Kakashi back to the others to begin to help transport them elsewhere.  His thoughts dulled and he moved mechanically.  He was aware of Tazuna and Kakashi around him, of the makeshift stretchers they made.  But everything seemed distant, and it remained as such for a long, long time.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

The sound of waves striking the shore was a familiar one.  It was late – very late – and the others were asleep inside.  It had taken most of the day to get the three wounded stable.  After multiple donations of blood – supplied mostly by himself, Kakashi, and Tazuna – his friends had finally gotten through the life-threatening blood loss.  Haku had undergone multiple surgeries and now lay encased in casts and bandages, all from two blows, or so he had been told.

“Bits and pieces,” Naruto said again dully, staring off into the darkness instead of at Kakashi.  They had been over what happened countless times and he still couldn’t remember most of it.  “I saw Sasuke fall down – I remember his Sharingan, for sure – and then I saw them both.  They were . . .”  His voice broke, and for the umpteenth time since the encounter he had to hold back tears.  “They were dead.  From there it’s choppy.  I remember going for Haku; I think I remember throwing him.  Next thing I knew I was holding him up ready to – no, _wanting_ to kill him.  I wanted it more than anything in the world.”  He clutched at his stomach, doubling over and trying not to vomit into the water.

“The Kyuubi’s chakra,” Kakashi sighed, leaning back against the side of the house.  “The seal is loosening, it seems, and you can tap into its energy when your emotions run wild.  That’s what happened last time, isn’t it?”  Naruto nodded, expressionless.  “Naruto I’ll say it again, and as many times as I need to until you understand: it wasn’t you.  It may have looked like you, felt like you, used your voice to talk, but the Naruto I know doesn’t enjoy inflicting pain or killing.  I know you wouldn’t have if you’d been in control.”

“But I should be in control,” Naruto snapped, snarling at nothing.  “It’s _my_ body.  _I_ should be in control, not the damn fox.”

“Then work to control it, I guess,” Kakashi shrugged.  That finally earned him a look and a few blinks from Naruto.  He was about to ask how when Kakashi held up his hands.  “I don’t know how, Naruto.  But if there’s a way, I know you’ll find it.”  The boy looked away again, saying nothing.  “I’m going to get some sleep; we still have a mission to complete, and we’ll need to guard Tazuna again tomorrow.”  He stood then, moving towards the door where he stopped, glancing back at Naruto.  “They’re probably waiting for you upstairs; I think they’re worried about you, despite their own conditions.”  With that he was gone, slipping silently into the house.

The evening stretched on as Naruto sat in silence on the dock, thinking on everything over and over as he had done all day.  He had _killed_ somebody today.  Not from afar with a kunai or even with a jutsu.  He had slain them intimately, mercilessly, like it had been part of his daily routine.  The thought made him sick.  Maybe Kakashi was right, that it had been necessary and the right course of action.  Maybe that was true.  It didn’t make it any easier to bear.  And the Kyuubi had taken control of him yet again.  He choked back another sob, this one bitter and fueled by anger.

_Kakashi’s right.  I need to control it.  Somehow . . ._

All at once exhaustion hit him.  Every muscle felt tight and sore, every bone ached to the core.  He rose slowly, swaying on his feet due to a mixture of nausea, dizziness, and fatigue.  It felt like a terribly long journey to get through the door and up the stairs.  Slipping into the room Sasuke and Hinata were sharing for recovery proved no less difficult, but in a moment he was standing quietly nearby, looking down at them both.

In that moment he realized what Kakashi had been trying to tell him days earlier.  More than anything else that had happened that day, more than killing Zabuza or even the Kyuubi, what hurt most was to see his friends’ lives threatened.  The memory of their still forms rose unbidden and he couldn’t help it; he cried.  Silent tears shook him for a long while.  He finally found his way to his bedroll, placed between the two so that he could be close at hand if either needed him.

Silent tears continued to fall as sleep finally took him.  Through his weeping he didn’t even notice the small, gentle hand placed upon his arm just before he drifted off.  A firmer, yet just as comforting hand rested on his shoulder, helping to guide him towards the peace of sleep.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

Morning sunlight warmed the makeshift bedroom gradually, the soft glow finally reaching Naruto’s face and making him blink his eyes open slowly.  He didn’t move for a while, trying to figure out what the pressures on his limbs were.  He lifted his head to look, blinking away unbidden tears as he spotted Hinata’s hand resting lightly on his left arm, Sasuke’s on his opposite shoulder.  They were breathing deeply, likely still fast asleep after their trials the day before.  Naruto carefully moved each of their hands, placing them gently back to rest on their stomachs.  Only, Hinata didn’t let go once he took her hand.  He smiled faintly, propping himself up against the wall with a few pillows and closing his eyes, Hinata’s hand held in his lap between his own.

He stayed like that for over an hour, thinking and meditating.  It took him a long time to work up to it, but he finally opened his eyes again.  Instead of the room he was sitting in, however, he was staring up at the Kyuubi’s seal.  The giant gate was there, still locked with the paper seal at its center.  No cracks or noticeable weaknesses had appeared.  Naruto frowned, looking hard into the darkness beyond the massive metal bars.

“Kyuubi,” he said finally, voice hard and loud.  A low rumbling filled the air, accompanied by the sound of gargantuan claws scraping on a stone surface.

 ** _“Ah, mortal.  To what do I owe the pleasure?”_** the fox sneered, luminous eyes opening slowly.  **_“I enjoyed that little display of yours last night, though it’s too bad you didn’t get to finish the boy off.”_**

“Shut up,” Naruto said flatly.  He had spent over an hour mentally preparing for this, and he wouldn’t allow the demon to get the better of him.  “I came to talk.  Come closer.”  He steeled himself then, waiting, as the eyes narrowed.  Ripples played out from under the gate as the sounds of shifting weight filled the room, the scale of which was lost in the blackness beyond.  A face slowly came into view, though rather than it moving towards Naruto the dull light of the room simply seemed to extend into the cage.

The Kyuubi was truly massive.  Naruto could only see its face now, but even that was enough to send a spike of fear unbidden down his spine.  Its head was roughly the size of the Hokage’s tower, with orange fur coating it in every place there wasn’t something menacing.  For all intents and purposes it was a fox’s face, but elongated and set in a permanent snarl, with pointed ears that he could have mistaken for horns disappearing into the darkness behind.  Fangs lined the Kyuubi’s mouth, each longer than a grown man and pearly white, gleaming dangerously in the dimness.  Even when illuminated, its malevolent red eyes gave off a light of their own, flashing in the light.

 ** _“Satisfied?”_**  the demon asked mildly, voice still loud enough to rattle Naruto’s ribcage.

“Good enough.”  Naruto had taken the sight in stride, trying his best to not show any of the fear that threatened to shake his will.  “I want to know how I can control your chakra,” he asked bluntly, staring defiantly at the beast.  “I don’t want to lose control again.”  The Kyuubi stared at him, expressionless for a long moment, then barked out a harsh laugh that reverberated several times through the chamber.  The action looked strange coming from such a creature, though no more so than it speaking.

 ** _“Control?  You think you can control my power?”_**   Its tone was openly mocking, and the snarl suddenly looked like a sneer.

“No,” he responded patiently, folding his arms.  “But I think you can help me control _when_ and _how_ it comes on instead of just letting it flow out like crazy when I get worked up.”  He waited for a moment, possibly for a sign from the demon, but none came.  “Look, you’re the one who has the ‘vested interest’ or whatever in keeping me alive.  If you showed me how to do that much I’m sure I’d be better off.”

 ** _“Kid, you’re a fool,”_** the Kyuubi growled, **_“My chakra is already keeping you alive.  Whenever you’re in dire straits it comes out against my will; you can’t tell me you’d have been better off against Mizuki without it, or against Haku.”_**

“You’re not wrong,” Naruto agreed, sighing in the same breath and scratching at the back of his neck.  “But that’s not how I want to use your chakra.  Look couldn’t we work together or something?  You show me how to just _use_ your chakra to help me, and you get a little more freedom out of it.”  If a giant fox demon could look suspicious, the Kyuubi’s expression was as close to it as possible.

 ** _“Freedom, right,”_** the demon laughed, a hulking _something_ thrashing into view for the briefest moment.  **_“You and I both know that I’m not getting out of here, so don’t even think—_** ** _”_**

“Do you think I’m stupid enough to let you out?” Naruto interrupted, a fairly impressive feat considering his voice was about a sixty decibels lower.  “No, but I can see if I can figure out how to change or even loosen the seal.  I bet it gets real boring down here by yourself; maybe I’d let you hang out in my head or something.  Well, outside, sort of; I mean consciously.  You know what I mean,” he finished, glowering at nothing.  It was about a minute before the Kyuubi responded, rumbling through a low chuckle first.

 ** _“You’ve got guts, kid, I’ll give you that._** ”  Bright eyes flashed, in recognition, and then the Kyuubi nodded.  **_“I’ll think about it.  Figure the seal issue out first; your offer means little to me if you can’t even follow through with it.”_**

“Alright, fair enough,” Naruto agreed, turning to leave the chamber.  Not that there was a door to leave by, but it was the principal of the action.  “By the way, it wouldn’t kill you to be a little nicer.”  He smirked slightly, a bit of immature glee showing through at having the last word, before he dismissed the scene by concentrating hard.  The last thing he heard was a low growl before he again opened his eyes, revealing the room as it had been before.  Nothing had changed, and judging by the light coming through the window it seemed like his conversation with the Kyuubi had only lasted a few seconds at most.

“Mmm, Naruto-kun . . .”  He blinked and looked down, his eyes falling on Hinata’s still slumbering form.  She was muttering softly to herself, likely a result of a dream.  “We’re not supposed to go outside yet . . .”  She trailed off, making cute sleepy noises for a time before resettling, pulling Naruto’s hand to her and snuggling with it.  Even though he knew she couldn’t see him, and that she had no idea what she was doing, Naruto still blushed furiously.  He let her keep his hand, though, waiting patiently for her to rouse and give it back.

A few minutes later Hinata blinked her eyes open slowly, wincing slightly as she shifted under the bedroll.  Something warm was pressed against her cheek, and for a second she thought it was her own hand until she identified its source.  The poor girl froze, eyes widening as they focused on Naruto’s profile above her, color flooded to her cheeks.

“Morning, Hinata-chan,” Naruto said gently with a sheepish grin, “I hope you slept well.”  Judging by the intense amount of heat now radiating from her cheek, he suspected she had mostly recovered overnight.

“N-Naruto-kun,” she stuttered, sitting up quickly and releasing his hand in a moment of panic.  A wash of dizziness hit her and she wavered, teetering away before Naruto caught her.  A moment later her head was down again, propped up a little with an extra pillow.  His hand was in hers again, though she didn’t remember how it got there.

“Hey, don’t try to sit up yet; you lost a lot of blood, remember?”  She nodded carefully, wincing and closing her eyes for a moment as the flush began to fade away.

“What happened after I . . . After I went unconscious yesterday?” she asked hesitantly, eyes still closed.  Naruto tensed next to her and squeezed her hand tightly, causing her to blink her eyelids open and glance up at him.  He was looking off towards the wall, his expression unreadable.  “Naruto-kun, what . . .”  Hinata trailed as he grimaced.

“I’ll tell you soon,” he said gruffly, glancing down at their still sleeping companion.  “I want Sasuke to be awake first; I owe you both an explanation.”

“Kinda hard to sleep with you two yapping like that,” Sasuke mumbled, keeping his eyes closed.  “You’re supposed to let injured people sleep, jerk.”  Naruto couldn’t help but grin as his friend carefully sat up, slow enough to not cause the spell of dizziness Hinata had experienced.  Naruto helped him set a few pillows against the wall and get comfortable before he leaned back again, his features becoming a bit strained.

“Sorry, but . . . I have something I need to tell you both.”  Hinata bit her lip but nodded, squeezing his hand gently.  Sasuke nodded, choosing to stare at the far wall.

And so Naruto told them everything, from the very beginning.  It was hard, and his voice started out tight and a bit husky.  But soon his tone turned tired, calmer, as if the act of sharing the story somehow offered relief.  He told them about Mizuki, how he had learned from the man what lived inside of him, the reason the village despised him.  He told his friends about the times he had been possessed by the malevolent chakra, how it felt, and the bits he could remember from it.  He told them about his three encounters with the Kyuubi thus far, in the recesses of his own mind.

And then he told them what happened at the bridge after they had both fallen into a near-death state.  Most of it was put together in bits and pieces, from what Kakashi had told him about Haku’s wounds and the flashes he could remember.  He told them about how he had killed Zabuza without batting an eyelash, and about how he had intended to murder Haku, and would have if Sasuke hadn’t called to him.  By the time he had finished he was looking down at his lap, his words getting thick and a little choked near the end.

“Back then . . . I didn’t tell you because I thought you might look at me differently, that maybe you’d treat me different too.  I didn’t choose to be like this, and I didn’t mean to let that power loose or kill anybody.”  Tears welled up as he came to his conclusion but he held them back, swallowing once or twice.  “But you two are my best friends; you deserved to know about me, about how dangerous I can be.  It wasn’t fair to keep it a secret.”  He sat there then, silent, staring at the one hand still in his lap before he realized that his other was being virtually crushed between both of Hinata’s.  His friends had been silent through the whole explanation, hanging on every word in their own way.  Sasuke still stared blankly at the far wall.

“Ano, Naruto-kun?” Hinata began finally, looking up at him intently.  “Mizuki said – and you’ve said, too – that the Kyuubi is sealed inside of you, right?  That the Yondaime did it?”  Naruto nodded, averting his gaze from her.  “Then you should know that what Mizuki told you – what the villagers think of you – is wrong!”  The fervor with which she spoke caused both of the boys to blink at her, surprised at the passion that she had expressed in her statement.  Hinata let out a small squeak and looked down again, flushing and speaking quieter again.  “I-I mean, you’re not a demon.  You’re his keeper, in a way, right?”

“Man you can be thick sometimes,” Sasuke sighed, stretching with only a slight wince.  “You think just because you’ve got a demon fox prisoner inside you that it makes you a bad person or something?”  He smirked and shook his head, punching Naruto’s arm weakly.  “You’re the most optimistic, annoyingly cheery person I know.  You’ve got a better chance of making the Kyuubi into a pet kitten than he has of making you into a demon puppet.”

“We both know you wouldn’t kill unless you absolutely had to,” Hinata began again with another hand squeeze.  “You’re you, and no one else.  We’re not going anywhere, so we’ll be here to remind you.”  She smiled then, a rare display of confidence, devotion, and warmth from the otherwise timid girl.  Naruto found himself infected by it, warmed and soothed by her words.  He nodded, not trusting himself to speak.  They sat like that for a time, taking in the comfort of one another’s company.

Kakashi popped in a while later to check on them, ignoring their protests and insisting they all rest for the day; he would escort Tazuna himself.  They spent the remainder of the day relaxing, talking, laughing, and living.

 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 

The next few days passed by quickly.  Hinata and Sasuke were back on their feet on their first morning awake, but Kakashi – and Naruto, for that matter – wouldn’t let them leave the house for another full day.  They sulked a bit, but complied after Naruto reminded them how they had both insisted he recover fully a few days before.

They left Wave Country after the bridge’s completion a few days later, sent off by quite the crowd.  It seemed Inari and Tsunami had gone around the town and rallied the villagers against Gatoh, together ousting his gangs and thugs.  Rumor had it that they had even cornered Gatoh himself and run him off a bridge, but nobody would confirm the truth in it.  Somebody – Inari and Tazuna, Naruto expected – had led the citizens to believe that Team Seven had been heroes, and they had decided to name the new causeway ‘Bridge Seven’ in their honor.

It was afternoon of their second day traveling, and the walls of Konoha loomed in the distance.  Kakashi led the way, his three genin following behind.  They had kept a purposefully slow pace, partly to continue recovery and partly due to not having a scheduled return date.  Leave it to Kakashi to take the lazy route.

Naruto walked between his friends, silent for a time.  Conversation had kept up through most of the trip, though they had all fallen silent as their village came into view.  Silently he reached down and took Hinata’s hand, still looking towards the high walls.  He smirked and extended his other hand towards Sasuke, who glanced at it, rolled his eyes, and slapped his palm into contact with Naruto’s.  They walked like that, hand-in-hand, all with their own unique expression of relief and joy.

Kakashi glanced back at them furtively, smiling to himself beneath his mask before turning his attention forward once again.  They had grown in the last two weeks, more than he could have hoped.  The mission had brought them closer as friends, honed their skills even further, built confidence and trust, and many other things.  It had also caused heartbreak, tragedy, and pain, but they had taken those and worked through them together, as a team.

 _If this keeps up, people might start thinking I’m not lazy and might be a good mentor after all.  Can’t have that,_ he joked to himself, glancing to his left and raising an eyebrow.  “You sure you want to come back with us?  I told you I wouldn’t put you in my report to the Hokage.  You’ll be subjected to interrogation and possible imprisonment.”

“I’m sure,” Haku said softly, limping along every other step with the assistance of his crutches.  “Zabuza-san is dead, and I owe Naruto-kun my life.  If I offer your village my services as a ninja, perhaps I can be useful again.”  He was quiet then, glancing to the trio behind with a sad smile.  In that instant he looked young, like the boy he was, not the tool for assassination he had been trained as.

“I’ll do what I can to help you; I promised Zabuza I would.”  That wasn’t entirely true, but Zabuza had been right about Haku.  The boy was kind to a fault, deeply empathetic and innocent.  It was a shame he had been mistreated for most of his life, even if he hadn’t seen it that way.  Haku nodded and said nothing more, continuing slowly towards Konoha and an unknown fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well then. I thought this chapter might be 9-12k words by the time I was finished. Boy was I wrong.
> 
> Thank you Rhi, for reading through this entire thing and correcting my mistakes and helping me with content etc. Not many people have the fortitude or will to read through so much – multiple times, mind you – and not want to throw a fork at my head, let alone fix all of my little mistakes.
> 
> I appreciate the follows and favorites as always, as well as the reviews I've received since the last chapter. As always, I invite constructive criticism of any kind, either in review form or as a private message. It may be a little longer before my next update; this chapter took a lot out of me and I’ll need some mental rest time.
> 
> Thanks again, and I’ll see you next time!


	8. Friendship

 

“That has to be considered cheating,” Naruto laughed, accepting Sasuke’s offered hand and rising from the ground.  It was the third time during their sparring match that he’d been knocked down, something he was far from used to.  Since they had returned from Wave Country Sasuke had been able to beat him consistently.

“Hey, I can’t help it if my Sharingan gives me an advantage.  Besides, I can hardly keep up with you without it.”  Sasuke was grinning.  He had been expressing more emotion lately, ever since his bloodline had activated at the bridge.  His red eyes shimmered in the early morning sunlight as he settled into a ready stance again.  Naruto rolled his eyes, though he was still smiling.  It was nice to see his friend’s mood elevated again; it had been too long.

“Yeah yeah, I know.  It’s good practice anyway.”  Naruto resettled into his own stance, expression smoothing to one of calm and focus.  For a moment they merely stood there, working out each other’s defenses.  Sasuke was the first to move, a blur of motion that his adversary had trouble keeping up with.  For a full minute they traded blows, striking faster with every passing second until their sole onlooker had trouble keeping up.  But Hinata still held the title of ‘fastest’ when it came to their little group, and she had only to narrow her eyes and concentrate to keep track of their movements.

Thirty seconds later Sasuke and Naruto stood panting in front of one another, each with a smirk on his face.  Sasuke’s right fist was settled directly in front of his friend’s nose, while Naruto’s hand was open in a Y-strike an equal distance from the Uchiha’s throat.  It had been a tie.

“Man, I thought I had you,” Naruto sighed, lowering his hand as Sasuke did the same.  “It’s like you can see what I’m about to do before I do it.  I still don’t get how that works.”  Sasuke shrugged, stepping back and stretching upwards.

“I told you, it just lets me see things better, more clearly.  For example, I know what you’re saying just by looking at your mouth moving.”  Naruto blinked, then mouthed something at his friend.  “Very funny,” Sasuke said dryly, though it made the blond boy grin.  “I don’t think I’ve gotten stronger, technically, but my reflexes are quicker because I can see subtle movements clearer.  Get it?”  Naruto thought about that for a second and nodded slowly.

“Alright, that makes more sense.  That’s really cool!”  Sasuke shrugged.  “But uh . . . Why is there one tomoe in your left eye, but two in your right?  You said three was the most, right?”

“Yeah, three is the most, and I think my right eye can see more than my left.”  As if to test it, he closed one eye at a time, glancing around with each before turning back to Naruto and blinking both open.  “I can’t tell much of a difference just standing around, but things do look a little sharper with my right eye.  I know the Sharingan has a lot of abilities, some that a lot of people don’t know about.”

“Like what?” Hinata asked as they approached and took a seat in the grass on either side of her.  Naruto sat with his legs out, propped up by his hands, one of which rested a few centimeters from her own.  A bit of heat rose in her chest and she tried to ignore it.

“Well, I heard when I was younger that a fully matured Sharingan can put someone into a kind of hypnosis.  It’s not mind control so much as it is suggestion.”  His friends turned to stare at him at that mention, and he shrugged again.  “But both eyes have to have three tomoe, I think.  I can already memorize hand signs I know.  I can see chakra kind of like how Hinata can, and I can even copy some techniques like Kakashi.  There are some advanced uses that combine a few abilities of the Sharingan at once, but I’m nowhere near there yet.”

Naruto sighed and fell back, lacing his fingers behind his head as he reclined in the grass.  “Still, that’s so cool.  You two have such neat doujutsu.”  Hinata turned a little pink at the comment, though couldn’t keep the bit of worry from her eyes.  She had been concerned lately that Naruto might get down on himself for not having a bloodline ability like she or Sasuke did.  He seemed to take training even more seriously than normal since Sasuke had begun beating him in sparring more often.  “Heh, guess that means I have to train harder to keep up with you two!”  Naruto’s broad grin made her feel foolish for even thinking that he might be discouraged.  He never gave up.

“Your turn, Hinata,” Sasuke said with a spurious grimace.  “If I’m going to fully utilize my new eyes I’ll need you to help me increase my speed.  Maybe I’ll be able to land more than one hit this time.”  He pushed himself back up and strode back out into center of the small clearing, turning to face Hinata.  She smiled a little, turning a bit pink at his veiled compliment before rising smoothly and pacing forward.  The veins in around her eyes stretched and stood out against her skin as she activated the Byakugan.  Naruto sat back up to observe, watching intently as they readied themselves and began.

Hinata was _fast_.  Her strikes didn’t carry nearly the same power that her friends’ did, but they came like lightning and were just as dangerous in their own right.  Even with Sasuke’s heightened reflexes and perception he couldn’t counter every hit, though it was close.  Several times he came close to striking his own blows but was met with either air or a deft block.  The hardest part about sparring with Hinata was that he simply couldn’t block her attacks for fear of one of his tenketsu being closed in the process.  They had both encouraged her to use jyuken against them in order to get a feel for the style, and she had improved over the years.

A few minutes later Sasuke dropped to one knee, clutching his shoulder and wincing.  “Well, I did get you twice,” he panted, grinning despite the fact that he had clearly lost.  “You mind healing a little?  I think you bruised my collar bone and one of my ribs.”  Hinata winced and nodded.  They always told her not to feel bad for injuring them; her fighting style required her to force chakra into her opponent’s body in order to affect their tenketsu.  She was able to target points near organs to damage them as well, but even when she sparred using jyuken Hinata did her best to avoid any areas that would cause lasting harm.

“I’m gonna need to do something to keep up with you two,” Naruto sighed, approaching to watch as Hinata placed her hands over the areas she had damaged.  A soft green glow pulsed from her palms, seeming to flow into under Sasuke’s clothes to seem into his skin.  In moments she was finished, stepping back with an apologetic duck of her head.  Naruto grinned again.  “You really are awesome, Hinata-chan.”  Her lips parted as if she was about to say something in response, but instead she just turned a vibrant shade of red and kept looking down, fidgeting with the hem of her coat.

“Alright you two,” Sasuke groaned as he stood back up, rotating his shoulder to make sure it was fully functional.  “I’m going to go clean up before we have to meet Kakashi-sensei.  I’ll see you at nine.”  He waved absently and turned, the scarlet of his irises fading back to their usual black.  Naruto stood looking after him for a moment, seemingly lost in thought until Hinata’s voice brought him back.

“Ano, Naruto-kun?” she asked hesitantly, cheeks still fairly pink.  “Do you really think I’m . . . ‘Awesome’?”  Naruto blinked at her, tilting his head to the side and looking a little confused.  It had taken a measure of self-control not to laugh; hearing Hinata say ‘awesome’ was foreign enough to at least earn a chuckle.  He resisted, though; Iruka – and Kakashi now, though on much rarer occasions – always told him to think carefully in conversation.  Iruka had made it a point to discuss Hinata, too.

“Yeah, I do,” he responded slowly a moment later, rubbing at the back of his neck.  “I think it’s incredible that you’re so fast, and you know some really impressive techniques too.  Not only that but you picked up that healing jutsu so well.  And, well.”  Hinata blinked, the blush creeping over her features momentarily halting.  Naruto was . . . Embarrassed?  The boy had averted his gaze and was shifting his weight subconsciously, as if uncomfortable all of a sudden.  “And you’re always thinking about us instead of yourself; you’re a really nice person.”  By the time he had finished speaking her flush had returned in full force.  A ripe cherry would have been jealous of Hinata’s complexion.

“I-I . . .” She hadn’t planned much further than asking his opinion.  It wasn’t that she doubted Naruto’s word; she trusted him implicitly.  The facts simply didn’t add up.  The way she saw herself and the way he saw her were just too different.  If he was being honest . . . _He just doesn’t really know me._   But _that_ didn’t make sense either.  Apart from being friends for half of a decade, she had been living with him and Iruka for nearly six months now.  They were almost like siblings at home, she often told herself, so it wasn’t like Naruto hadn’t been around her a lot.  If anybody outside of her family knew her, it would be Naruto.

“Er, Hinata-chan?” he asked, waving a hand in front of her eyes cautiously.  “Are you okay?  I didn’t say something wrong, did I?”

“N-no, I’m fine!” she stuttered, cursing herself for doing so a breath later.  “I’m sorry, just . . . Thank you, Naruto-kun.”  Her expression didn’t quite match her words.  Rather than getting flustered and awkward Hinata seemed even more reserved than usual, bordering on somber.  _He’s probably just trying to be nice._   That was an explanation she could accept.

“Uh, sure.  You don’t have anything to be sorry for, though,” he insisted, sure now he’d done something to upset his friend.  Hinata smiled weakly and shook her head.  He frowned, but didn’t say anything else for fear of making it worse.  They made their way back home in an uncomfortable silence, Naruto awkward and worried while Hinata lost herself in thought.  He glanced over at her several times on the way back, though she didn’t seem to take notice.  “Hey,” he said finally as Iruka’s apartment came into view.  She looked towards him and he flushed slightly, reaching his hand out before he lost the nerve.  His fingers closed around her hand and he squeezed gently.  “I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings; I was just being honest.  You’re a good person, and I just wanted you to know that I know.  Or . . . Something like that.”  He laughed and rubbed at the back of his neck, an action she was now able to recognize as one of embarrassment.

Hinata stopped.  She stood staring at him from a step behind, her hand hanging forward still attached to his.  He had taken an extra step and was looking back, more concern rising in his features.  Her own expression started as blank, evolving into one of disbelief, until she finally bit her trembling lip and nodded slowly.  Naruto nearly apologized for his awkward apology, but then she smiled; it was a real one this time.  It may have been small, but it had the effect her smiles always did: he instantly felt warmer inside.

“Thank you, Naruto-kun,” she said after a few seconds, returning a tentative squeeze of her own.  This time the words were sincere, and Naruto grinned back.  A very small but very real light flickered to life deep inside of her.  Dark thoughts of doubt and inadequacy rushed to smother it, threatening the budding spark before it even had a chance to grow.  But it held, steadfast and patient, burning away every plaguing apprehension and insecurity that came near.

Naruto tugged lightly and got her moving again, and they went up together.  He might never realize what he had done, but she did, and would never forget it.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“Iruka-sensei, we’re heading out,” Naruto called into the kitchen as he reached for the door.  “Do you need us to get anything on the way home today?”  The sound of tableware being set down preceded Iruka’s head popping around the corner.

“No I think we’re set for another day or two; thank you, though.  Where do I need to meet you again?”

“Yakiniku Q!  We never got to celebrate our mission’s success, and we get to treat!”  Naruto bubbled with excitement at the notion of treating somebody else to a nice meal.  Upon their return to Konoha and Kakashi’s mission report, the Sandaime had upgraded the mission to B-rank and made up the difference using the village’s own coffers.  Not only that, but Kakashi had claimed the bounties on Zabuza and the Demon Brothers from the Hidden Mist.  He had initially split it evenly among Team Seven, though after _their_ insistence he had taken a larger share.  Still, the ryo each of the genin had received was considerable.  This was especially true for Naruto, who had been living on a meager stipend until Iruka had taken him in.

“Alright, alright,” Iruka sighed, though he was smiling as he disappeared back into the kitchen.  “I’ll see you there at six.”  The sounds of running water and clattering dishes started up again.  Naruto glanced back at Hinata, who had been waiting just behind him.  He gave her one of his signature grins, prompting a light blush but a small smile of her own, before reaching for the door.

It took them only a few minutes to arrive at their meeting place, a wooden bridge on the west side of the village.  Sasuke was already there, leaning against the railing and looking pensive, and even a little surly.  As his friends approached he glanced aside, nodding at them before returning his gaze to the water.

“What’s wrong, Sasuke?” Hinata asked as they joined him, worry already creasing her brow.  He glanced at her with a wry smirk and shook his head.  She could always tell when something was amiss.

“I was just thinking about Haku.  It’s been a week since we got back and he hasn’t been released yet.”  Naruto scowled at the water, and after a glance at him Hinata’s worried expression softened.

“Naruto-kun, we know Haku let us live on purpose . . . And Kakashi-sensei thinks he’s a nice person.”  Naruto shrugged at her words, but his expression softened a little.  She didn’t like seeing him upset, but they had discussed it several times since returning to Konoha.  Naruto had even agreed that Haku had been acting as justly as he could have given the situation.

“I know,” he sighed, running a hand through his spiky yellow hair; it bounced back into place the moment his hand passed over.  “It’s just . . . It’s still hard to consider him a good guy after that.  And I sorta . . . Well I almost killed him, too.”  They were all silent at that.  Hinata and Sasuke had been in a near-death state then, but from what Naruto had reported – and Haku’s injuries – they knew it wasn’t an exaggeration.

“I would have done the same in your position,” Sasuke said quietly, not looking away from the stream.  Naruto glanced at him and considered for a moment, then nodded slowly.  They stood staring at the rippling waters for a time, a comfortable silence broken only by the gentle sounds of the river below.

“Yo, sorry I’m late,” Kakashi said from behind them a few minutes later, “I was on my way here  when–”

“When an old lady needed help crossing the entire town?” Naruto suggested, turning on the jounin with a smirk.

“When you had to save some children from a rockslide?” Sasuke offered, giving Kakashi a level look.

“When the Hokage needed you for an urgent meeting?” Hinata put in, though she flushed and looked down immediately.

Kakashi blinked at them, then spread his hands in a placating manner.  “Alright, alright, you win.”  He seemed to be grinning behind the mask.  “Ready for more missions today?”

“Actually,” Naruto began, earning him a glance from all parties.  “I was wondering if you learned anything else about Haku recently.”  Sasuke looked back to their teacher, though not before offering his friend an appreciative glance.  Hinata, too, turned to Kakashi expectantly.  The man looked at them all before sighing, leaning back against the opposite railing and folding his arms.

“They finished interrogating and extracting information from him two days ago.  Since then he’s been awaiting judgment from the higher-ups, but the order just came down this morning.  Haku is going to be executed at midnight.”  Kakashi’s tone was flat as he delivered the news, betraying no emotion on what few features could be seen.

“Executed?” Sasuke blurted out, genuine disbelief written all over his face.  “That’s ridiculous; he could easily have killed Hinata and I, but he let us live on purpose!”

“He is a dangerous ninja who, despite that fact, was working with a strong missing-nin of the Hidden Mist.  He may not have killed you, but he’s killed others.”  He looked seriously at each of them in turn, noting their distraught – and in Sasuke’s case, outright angry – expressions.  “I did what I could in his defense, but the word of one jounin isn’t enough.  I know it doesn’t seem fair to you, but that’s how things have to be sometimes.”

“No they don’t,” Naruto said with no small amount of conviction.  “Haku may not be an ally yet, but he’s not a bad person.  He did those things because he cared about Zabuza.  It may have been wrong, but he would have done anything Zabuza asked because he was the only one that recognized Haku.”  Kakashi could feel the passion in the boy’s voice, and realized halfway through that Naruto was speaking from experience.  “He just made the wrong friend,” he concluded after a moment’s pause, looking to the side at Sasuke and Hinata.  “I’m sure if he made real friends he’d be fine, right?”

“Definitely,” Sasuke insisted, staring hard at Kakashi.  At some point his Sharingan had activated, the crimson in his eyes making the look that much more intense.

“I think so, too,” Hinata agreed meekly.  While the girl seemed less fervent than her comrades she was no less committed.  They all understood in their own way how Haku might feel.  He was alone now, as they all had been at one time or another.  They wanted him to be given another chance, a chance that everybody deserved.

“I . . . Don’t disagree,” Kakashi sighed, scratching at his neck distractedly.  “I just don’t see what can be done for him, unless somebody was foolish enough to barge into the execution and defend him.  But I can’t think of anybody who would do something like that.”  He shrugged in mock helplessness, and then smiled approvingly as realization spread across his students’ faces.  “The Hokage’s tower, basement level.  Take the stairs on the right as you enter the building; turn right when you get down there, and it’s the last door on your left.  But I didn’t tell you so,” he cautioned with a wave of his finger.  They all nodded quickly, their expressions determined now.  “Alright then.  We’re still doing a mission today, so let’s get moving.”

“Just one?” Naruto asked as Kakashi turned towards town.

“Well I figured you three need a break today,” he said calmly.  “I’m sure you can look after yourselves for an afternoon.  Maybe train or – I don’t know – come up with more formations and strategies.”  He shrugged and vanished in a plume of white smoke, though not before they noticed the exaggerated wink.

They stood there for a moment, all looking at where Kakashi had disappeared from.  Without a word they set off at the same time, as if of one mind, dashing towards the Hokage’s tower to receive their mission.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

The mission was a simple one, even as D-rank tasks went: they had been assigned to do an elderly couple’s shopping.  As usual Kakashi set himself up in a tree, keeping his radio on for the unlikely event that they might need him.  To get everything done as fast as possible, they each took a different part of the list and split up.  Sasuke opted to gather the requested fabrics and clothing, Hinata chose to get groceries from the market, and Naruto went to pick up the various household supplies.

As much as he had looked forward coming back to Konoha, Naruto hadn’t been excited to be walking the streets of the village again.  Most of his time was purposefully spent training, staying at home, or otherwise occupying himself away from the populace.  Every venture into the heart of the village reminded him of the citizens’ attitude towards him.

An outraged “Watch it, brat!” or similar – though generally less savory – remark was common, even when he was nowhere near the offended party.  A handful of times he overheard the purposefully loud whisper of “demon boy” or “damned pariah”.  Naruto clenched his teeth and ignored them.  The hitai-ate on his forehead meant little to them; all they saw was what they wanted to see.  It didn’t matter that he was performing important duties for the village.

By the time he had finished collecting the supplies Naruto’s patience was running thin.  On top of his mission and the people that seemed to purposefully get in his way, he was still concerned with Haku and how they were going to help him.  Lost in thought, he didn’t notice the foot extended from a nearby group of people until he was falling forward.  He was forced to let the bags he had been holding fall to either side, catching himself just before hitting the ground and rebounding back up with a single downward thrust of his palms.

“Stealing now, are we?” a sneering voice asked from behind him.  “I always knew you were a delinquent but I didn’t think you were a criminal.”  Naruto turned to face the speaker, taking in measured breaths and keeping his expression neutral.  The man was tall and gaunt, and was flanked by two burlier men of average height who carried just enough muscle to look threatening.

“I’m not stealing; I’m on a mission,” Naruto responded coolly, retrieving his dropped bags one at a time.

“Doing some shopping for the village, huh?  I guess they couldn’t trust you with anything important, not that you can blame them.”  The man laughed to himself, glancing over his shoulder to make sure his cronies had begun to chuckle as well.  “I heard you almost died on your mission to the Wave Country.  You’re lucky your jounin was there to save you.  It’s a pity.”

“You must have missed the part where I killed a missing-nin,” Naruto shot back, a little harsher than he had intended.  The three men blinked before the leader scoffed.

“Right, _you_ killed a missing-nin.  What was he, an E-rank missing-nin from the Hidden Village of Pushovers?”  Again he turned to make sure his jibe had been ‘appreciated’.  “Face it kid, you’re an unwanted deadbeat.  You probably only made genin because the Hokage’s got a soft spot for you.”  This was going about as expected.  The common tactic of ‘try to bait Naruto into a fight’ was an old one, and in normal circumstances it wouldn’t have fazed him.  Unfortunately this wasn’t a normal circumstance.  With the comments throughout his errands and Haku’s impending execution on his mind, Naruto was worn thinner than usual.

“I know you’re trying to get me to throw the first punch,” Naruto responded after lifting the last bag into one hand, “But it’s not going to happen.  Tell you what, how about you go first so that everybody else around can witness it, then report that I did it anyway.”  He had raised his voice loud enough to be heard by those nearby, several of them turning to watch the scene fully now.  Most were glaring at Naruto as if he was the cause of the commotion, though the few that had cared to note his words looked back and forth between the boy and his aggressors as if unable to decide who was at fault.  The tall thug dropped the fake smile he had been holding and glared openly.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” he said quietly, making sure only Naruto heard.  “Trying to get some pity from the villagers?  Good luck, because nobody gives a damn about you.”  He waited, perhaps for an excuse to jump into action.  Naruto merely met his gaze, the corner of his lip twitching upward in the smallest of smirks.  The man sighed dramatically after a moment, turning to address his thugs but truly announcing to all those around.  “Guys, take those stolen goods back from the kid so that we can return them.”  The two flunkies nodded and grinned, stepping forward.

Naruto stood fast as they approached, staying relaxed and looking as nonchalant as he could manage.  He waited until just as they were reaching towards him before he made his move.  His fingers unclenched, allowing the bags to fall towards the ground once more.  What happened next wasn’t particularly exciting to watch, largely because it happened too fast for most of the crowd to see.  One moment Naruto was standing still, and the next he was also standing still.  The two men, however, were on their backs, one clutching at his stomach while the other tried to simultaneously hold his right shin and left side.  Both of their faces were twisted in pain, though neither seemed seriously injured.  There were a few gasps from the onlookers, accompanied by rapid whispering.

The remaining man’s expression changed from overt smugness to outrage in the instant it had taken his lackeys to fall.  With a strangled shout he charged forward, a curved knife appearing in his hand.  Naruto didn’t even blink.  He went slower with this one, making sure those around them saw the knife being thrust towards his chest before he caught the man’s wrist.  The dagger fell from the attacker’s hand as Naruto twisted his wrist and, using the bigger man’s weight and momentum, pivoted and flung him hard.  He landed with a satisfying thud several meters away, and the three men were left groaning or wheezing on the ground.  Naruto once again calmly collected his bags.

“I’m sorry for the commotion,” he said tersely, bowing to the semi-circle of people gathered around him.  “I have a mission to complete, so if you’ll excuse me.”  Iruka had taught him the basics of etiquette, and especially how to handle himself in situations like that.  He would have a few choice words for Naruto if he learned of the encounter.

Sasuke and Hinata were already waiting at the bench where they had agreed to rendezvous.  Sasuke looked irritated, and Hinata seemed more fidgety than usual.

“What took you so long?” Sasuke asked as Naruto approached, rising and looking his friend up and down.  “And why’re you so dirty?”  Naruto shrugged noncommittally; he didn’t want to talk about what had happened.  Hinata watched him intently but said nothing.

“I had trouble finding a few things, and I fell once on my way here.”  Sasuke’s eyes bored into his, as if they could simply tell he was lying through eye contact.  “You two couldn’t have been here long anyway,” Naruto continued, annoyed.  “Let’s finish the mission so we can figure out what to do for Haku.”  That took Sasuke’s attention away and he nodded, falling into place next to his friend.  Hinata followed silently a step behind on Naruto’s other side, effectively hiding her concern from view.

It was just after noon when they delivered the supplies to the elderly couple at the edge of the village.  After finding Kakashi they made their way to the Hokage’s tower, entering the missions office to give their report and receive a small amount of ryo for the completed assignment.  Iruka smiled at Naruto and his friends as they came in.  The Sandaime was rifling through papers at the desk, no doubt searching for the D-rank missions list, when Kakashi coughed politely and spoke.

“Hokage-sama, I would like to give my team a break from missions this afternoon to go over some special training.”  Iruka looked up from his work and blinked at the request, glancing aside at the Hokage a moment later.  The old man was studying Kakashi’s impassive features, an almost unseen smile tugging at his lips before he nodded.

“Of course, Kakashi.  It is important that your students are well prepared, after all.”  If he didn’t know any better, Naruto would have sworn he had seen a twinkle in the Hokage’s eye.  Kakashi bowed and thanked him, and the three genin mimicked his gesture before departing.

“The Hokage knows, doesn’t he?” Sasuke asked quietly as they made their way down from the office.  Hinata looked even more worried now, tugging one of her sleeves nervously.

“You never know with the Sandaime,” Kakashi said with a shrug, opening the front door to the tower and letting in a flood of sunlight.  “But I’m certain that he’s the least of your worries right now.  Remember what I told you.  Or rather, what I _didn’t_ tell you.”  They all nodded, and he returned the action.

“C’mon, we can use our place to talk.  Iruka-sensei won’t be back for a few more hours anyway.”  Sasuke nodded and turned to set off towards his apartment to pick up what he would need for the evening.  Naruto went to turn towards Iruka’s but stopped, glancing back at Hinata who was still standing by the doorway.  Kakashi had disappeared – presumably to go read one of his weird books – and they were now the only ones in the area.  “Hinata-chan?”  She bit her lower lip and glanced up at him, and now he could see the distress written all over her features.

“Why were you attacked, Naruto-kun?” she asked hesitantly.  He blinked at her before scowling down at the ground, shrugging after a moment.

“You saw, huh?”  The question was largely rhetorical, but she nodded.  “The same thing as usual,” he sighed, giving her a wry smile.  “You’ve been living with Iruka-sensei and me for a while now; you must have overheard us some time talking about the villagers.”  Naruto tilted his head towards Sasuke’s retreating form, silently beckoning Hinata to follow as he took a slow step.  She hurried next to him, still listening intently but staring at her feet now.  “Ever since I entered the academy they’ve been a little more up front about their . . . Insults and assaults, I guess.  Before that it was just whispers, and occasionally an ‘accidental’ shove in front of a moving food cart.”  Her eyes snapped up to him, wide with unspoken horror and empathy.  He shrugged and continued, and it hurt her more still that he could just take it in stride.  “Iruka-sensei taught me to just ignore them, that if I let them get to me it’ll only encourage them and make things worse.  But those guys . . .” He paused for a moment, searching for the right words.  “I don’t know, honestly.  They were trying to pick a fight, and instead of walking away I egged them on and made them attack first.  It wasn’t right,” he admitted, a bit of guilt showing through in his expression, “But they just got to me, I guess.”  Naruto stopped there, trying to ignore the people they passed.  The hushed tones were less frequent and much quieter with Hinata next to him, but he could hear them all the same.  And so could she.

“Naruto-kun . . .” she began, faltering and glancing around as they walked.  She wanted to tell him that he had been justified in his actions, that nobody should have to endure such a thing.  And what’s more, he had lived with it every day for his whole life.  It hurt to watch as he pretended the comments didn’t affect him, that he didn’t notice the cold looks of too many strangers.  When she walked the streets of Konoha on her own, she was met with the same common courtesy any other citizen might enjoy; some who recognized her as a Hyuga might even incline their heads respectfully.  But Naruto . . . They might share the same roads, but when it came down to it they lived in vastly different villages.

Naruto blinked as he felt a soft pressure close in around his fingers, looking down to find Hinata’s hand curling around his own.  She was blushing furiously, and kept glancing around as if embarrassed, but her features were set in quiet determination.  Color rose in his cheeks as well and she looked away quickly.  Every time they had come to hold hands it had been Naruto that had initiated the contact, even when it had been him that needed consoling.  It was a friendly, comforting gesture that was becoming more familiar, but it felt so different when Hinata was the one reaching for him.

Hinata didn’t say anything on the walk back to their apartment, but she didn’t need to.  The stress from earlier had already started to melt away.  Naruto didn’t know how to put it into words, but it felt like she was trying to tell him something, like the action of taking his hand and holding on tightly was more than it seemed.  He puzzled over it for a time before deciding it wasn’t important.  What was meaningful was that he felt better.

“Thanks, Hinata-chan,” he said quietly, smiling sheepishly ahead.  She ducked her head in a nod, not daring to look up.  “You always know how to cheer me up.”  If possible Hinata reddened further, shaking her head quickly.  “It’s true,” Naruto protested, though his grin faded as he glanced aside at a group casting furtive glances in their direction.  “But . . . We probably shouldn’t hold hands in public.  People might start associating you with me and . . .” He trailed off as Hinata’s head lifted sharply, her eyes fixing on his for a moment.  In those brief seconds he saw strength of will and raw defiance unlike any he’d ever seen in his friend.  She looked away again quickly, but her face was set in a determined stare.

“Good,” she said quietly, though her tone was one of intense conviction.  “I’m okay with that, Naruto-kun.”  Naruto blinked at her, and then she blinked at herself.  “I-I mean,” she stammered, squeezing her eyes shut for a second.  “I mean associated like we are already, as friends!”  Hinata struggled with her words for a moment, then fell into a hopelessly embarrassed silence.  Before she could stop herself she pulled her hand from Naruto’s grasp, leaving him equal parts worried and confused.  “I’m sorry . . .” she mumbled piteously.

“I’ll admit you can be weird sometimes,” he laughed, causing her flinch visibly.  He continued quickly, reaching down and retaking her hand without looking.  “But you don’t have anything to apologize for, honest.  I appreciate you – I mean, I appreciate your friendship.”  They walked in that awkward silence for a time, both looking anywhere but at one another and blushing deeply.  Before too long Naruto’s bashful grin had returned, and he squeezed Hinata’s hand again.  She squeezed back.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“Are you sure, Sasuke?” Naruto asked.

“Yeah, I can do it.”  Sasuke seemed annoyed at being asked the same question so many times, but he understood his friend’s apprehension.  “I’ll think of something before midnight; trust me.”  Naruto nodded.

They were sitting on the floor in Iruka’s living room, legs crossed and facing one another.  Three glasses of water sat close at hand, along with an empty pitcher.  Hours had passed, and it was now half past five.  They had discussed at length possibilities and plans of action to help Haku, and although each of them knew that their decided course was a feeble one, they had little choice.  Violence wouldn’t do, and neither would attempting a covert operation.  Their best option was, unfortunately, diplomacy.

“Alright,” Naruto sighed, switching from his serious expression to a grin.  “Let’s head to dinner.  No reason to miss out on celebration barbeque!”  Sasuke opened his mouth to remind Naruto that he hadn’t planned to go, but he was cut off by his friend’s raised hand.  “Come on, Sasuke; we already know the plan.  Granted, the plan sucks, but it’s all we’ve got.  Sitting around getting worked up over it won’t help Haku.”  Again Sasuke seemed like he wanted to protest, but this time stopped on his own accord and nodded.  “And when we get Haku out, we’ll take him to dinner there too.”  They couldn’t help sharing a smile at that.

A few minutes later Sasuke and Naruto were waiting in the living room again, changed and ready to go.  It wasn’t a particularly fancy restaurant, but it was a good excuse to get out of their normal uniforms.  Naruto tugged at his collar self-consciously.  He had chosen to wear a relatively close fitting, dark blue coat that folded in on both sides.  The two folds overlapped, allowing the top layer to cut diagonally from sternum to hip, and it was tied off with a black cord just below his waist.  The formal long-sleeve covered a simple black t-shirt, only the collar of which could be seen.  A pair of black slacks completed his attire.

Sasuke had gone with a much more traditional approach.  The emblem of the Uchiha clan stood out boldly against the black silk on the back of his yukata, complemented by a crimson sash tied about his waist.  He had even gone so far as to don wooden sandals.  The folds of his robe were left slightly open at the top, enough to show just below his collar bones.  Naruto had been sure to snicker and point out how silly that particular element was, but Sasuke had merely shrugged and insisted that it was comfortable.

When Hinata came out of her room – that is, Naruto’s old bedroom – the boys’ reactions were delayed, but similar.  That is, as similar as two opposites could be.  Naruto’s jaw nearly hit the ground, and Sasuke blinked twice.  She had allowed her hair to start growing out since moving in with Iruka and Naruto, and it was now pulled up into a graceful bun held in place by two ornate silver chopsticks.  Her kimono matched the dark theme worn by her friends; its smooth black fabric was inlaid with elegantly swirling patterns of silver, several of which ended in violet rose blossoms.  Her sandaled feet shuffled on the floor as she tugged at one of the bangs framing her flushing face, glancing up and burning a darker red upon seeing their reactions.

“W-what?” she asked as defensively as she could manage.  It ended up sounding quiet and meek, as usual.

“You look great!” Naruto chirped, grinning broadly and rubbing at the back of his head.

“Wow,” Sasuke muttered, smirking and shaking his head.  “You ought to dress up more often, Hinata.”

It took every bit of self-control she had not to flee back into the bedroom.  Instead she tried to force the blush from her features and ducked her head, mumbling something that might have been an apology, or perhaps a mention of thanks.  Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other and shrugged.

Ten minutes later they arrived at the restaurant.  A few heads turned to the trio as they entered, and more than one eyebrow rose in their wake.  Iruka was sitting at a corner booth, still in his chunin garb and forehead protector.  His eyes went wide as he saw them, but the surprise didn’t stop his smile and soft whistle.

“Hey you three.  What’s the occasion?”  He laughed, ushering them into their seats.  Naruto and Hinata sat opposite Iruka and Sasuke, everyone falling in automatically as if it had been planned.  Iruka blinked and shrugged to himself before settling back down.  “I mean, not that I mind seeing you all dressed up, but you could have told me so I’d be a little more prepared.”  His tone was light and playful; it was apparent that he wasn’t overly concerned, just curious.

“It’s for later,” Naruto admitted, glancing from Sasuke to Hinata.  They both gave him a small nod.  Iruka looked between all three, quirking an eyebrow.  “Let’s order first, and I’ll tell you.  There’s a lot to talk about.”

It was just before seven by the time they had finished their meal, enjoying a temporary lapse in conversation to sit silently with their tea.  After a time Iruka set his cup down, looking pointedly at Naruto.  “Alright, so what’s up?  I’m enjoying the meal and hearing about your missions and training, but I’d like to know what’s going on _after_ this for you three.”  Naruto swirled the liquid in his cup, thinking for a long moment before taking another sip and exhaling deeply.

“Iruka-sensei, do you remember the boy that came back with us from Wave Country?”  Iruka blinked and nodded.

“Haku, right?”  Naruto returned his nod.

“Well . . .” It took half an hour to tell the whole story, and Naruto kept his voice low despite their relatively empty section.  He had filled Iruka in on bits and pieces of the mission – certainly none of the heavier parts.  Now he took turns with his friends, explaining how they had met Haku and who he was, what he had done, and what they were going to try to do that evening.  Iruka listened with rapt attention, taking in every detail and allowing the various emotions brought on by the retelling to play across his features.  He had read Kakashi’s mission report, of course, but it hadn’t included the genins’ viewpoints so vividly.

“We owe him for sparing Sasuke and Hinata,” Naruto concluded, looking back into his now cold tea.  “And I owe him, for killing Zabuza.”  Iruka gave him a sharp look and began to speak, but his former student cut him off quickly.  “I know it was the right thing to do, Iruka-sensei.  At least, I think it was.  But . . .” The chunin glanced to each of Naruto’s friends; both of them were looking at Naruto.  Sasuke looked impassive, though determined.  Hinata’s expression was overflowing with empathy, but it was evident that they had discussed this at length else she would look more worried.  “Whether or not it was the right thing to do doesn’t matter.  He lost his only friend, Iruka-sensei.  Even if I was right in doing it, he’s alone now because of me, and they want to just kill him.  He’s not a bad person, and we think we can help him.”

“And the clothes?” he asked with a worried, wry smile.  Naruto grinned at him, looking a little embarrassed.

“It was Hinata’s idea; she said we have a better chance of being taken seriously if we present ourselves well, or something.”  Hinata flushed and stared intently at her lap.  Iruka beamed at her and shook his head, smiling genuinely now.

“Alright, I understand.  I hope you three succeed tonight, but just be careful okay?”  They all nodded, and he leaned back with a sigh.  “Now, what else did you want to talk about?”  Naruto blinked at him, and the other two turned to do the same.  “Something’s been nagging at you – not just you, Naruto, but all three of you – since you got back from that mission.  Was Haku the only thing on your minds?”  Iruka didn’t miss a thing, it seemed.

Naruto gave him a small smile, and his eyes looked tired as they warily scanned the restaurant.  It wasn’t nearly as full as when they had first arrived, and there was nobody left nearby to overhear their conversation.  Iruka tensed slightly.  What could be a weightier topic than what they had just discussed?

“I found out about the Kyuubi, Iruka-sensei,” Naruto said quietly, examining his hands.  Iruka’s breath caught in his throat, and he suddenly felt sick.  The boy glanced up at him and grinned feebly.  “Mizuki told me about it years ago, in the forest when he attacked me.  It didn’t make a lot of sense at the time, but since then – and especially on that mission – I realized that it was true.”  Iruka’s gaze was distant, but he remembered himself to look quickly between Sasuke and Hinata; neither of them looked surprised.  Naruto shook his head.  “They found out in Wave Country.”

It took Naruto another long while to explain what had happened on the mission.  He skipped over the conversations with the fox demon, instead focusing on the physical events and his conversation with Kakashi afterwards.  By the time he had finished it was close to eight and they were one of the last parties left in the establishment.  As the story came to an end Iruka sagged back in his seat, head resting against the wall as his eyes closed.  It was a long moment before he opened his eyes again.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you, Naruto,” he said finally, voice a little tight.  “The current Hokage, Sarutobi-sama, passed a law after the Yondaime sealed away the Kyuubi.  Nobody was allowed to tell you of it, under penalty of death.”  Naruto simply nodded dully; it appeared he had worked that much out.  “It was meant to protect you, Naruto.  There are those that would kill you – or worse - if they found out that you were a jinchuriki.”

“Jinchuriki?” Hinata asked tentatively, looking from Iruka to Naruto.

“It’s . . . What a person holding a tailed beast is called.”  _I guess that’s not exactly a secret._

“There are more?” Naruto asked incredulously, eyes growing wide as he regarded Iruka.  His old teacher nodded gravely, leaning his forearms on the table as he continued.

“We’re not sure about the details, really; any village that might have a jinchuriki keeps it as a closely guarded secret, for similar reasons we’ve kept it from you.”  Naruto nodded slowly and he appeared to be calm, but his white knuckles on the table gave him away.  “Rumors – or ‘legends’, I guess is more appropriate – say there are nine tailed beasts in the world, somewhere.  They could be running wild, or they could be sealed inside a person like the Kyuubi was.  Nobody knows for sure.”

“Eight more,” Naruto breathed, falling back against the booth, stunned.  Everybody else at the table was surprised, though, when a fierce grin appeared on the boy’s face.  _I’m not the only one.  I’m not alone with this after all._   He felt guilty immediately after thinking it, glancing at his friends with an apologetic look that they didn’t understand.  _At least, not the only jinchuriki._   “Maybe I’ll get to meet them one day,” he said faintly with a small laugh.

“Maybe,” Iruka said smiling, the gesture not without a hint of sadness.  He could tell that the news had brought a measure of comfort to Naruto.  Even if the small fact couldn’t assuage a fraction of the burden he carried, it was something.  After a long and semi-comfortable silence, Iruka coughed and shifted over to rise from the table.  “It’s getting late; they’re going to be closing soon.”  The other three nodded without saying anything, following his lead and standing.  Naruto left payment for the meal on the edge of the table before they departed, eliciting a small, proud smile from Iruka.

“I’ll be waiting for you back home.”  Iruka had turned to address them outside of the restaurant, looking seriously at each of them in turn.  “Good luck, and be safe.”  They nodded dutifully and turned, disappearing into the gathering night.  Iruka stood there for a while, staring after them with a faraway look in his eyes.  “They shouldn’t have to grow up so fast,” he murmured to himself as he finally turned, hands finding his pockets as he began to walk home.   _But they do in this world.  There’s no other way to survive._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Three silent figures moved through the streets of Konoha, all but invisible in the moonless night.  Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata had waited in the park until the time had come, going over last minute planning.  In truth there was little planning to be done outside of getting in and deciding what they were going to say and do when they got there.  It was half past eleven as they reached the Hokage’s building; the towering structure seemed much more daunting now than it did during the day.

As Kakashi had promised, the front door was unlocked, and they hurried in and down the indicated staircase immediately.  Naruto had suggested a dramatic entrance right before midnight, but both Sasuke and Hinata had pointed out that it was possible that the execution could happen sooner than planned.  It would be safer to go in at least twenty minutes before, else they risked being too late.  They reached the basement and continued on silent feet, stopping at the last door on the left after the required right turn.

“Byakugan,” Hinata whispered.  She stared intently at the door for a moment, glancing from side to side before nodding.  “It looks like Haku’s inside, on his knees in the center of the room.  There are maybe twenty others in a circle around him.  Kakashi-sensei’s there, too.”  Sasuke and Naruto both nodded, then braced themselves.  Hinata nodded back, raised her hand slowly, and knocked on the door.

It wasn’t the most dramatic announcement, but it sounded like it caused a minor commotion on the other side of the door.  The sound of shuffling feet met their ears before the door cracked open, revealing a sliver of Kakashi’s face visible on the other side.  His eye scrunched up like it always did when he was smiling, and he closed the door again.  Some hurried mutters could be heard just on the other side of the entrance, and then there was silence for a long moment.

The door opened a few seconds later, wide enough to allow them to enter but blocked by a surly looking ninja wearing a bandana under his hitai-ate.  “This area is off limits.  You are to leave at once.”  Before he could shut the door on them, Hinata spoke up, her voice uncharacteristically clear and firm.

“We have come to speak on behalf of the prisoner Haku.  No matter the crimes of which he is accused, he is entitled to receive word on his behalf before his sentence is to be carried out.  We humbly request permission to enter and speak.”  The man froze, eyes narrowing at the girl and her companions.  Hinata began to tremble slightly, but she stood her ground.

“Ah, she is quite right,” an amused, pleasant voice said from the other side of the door.  “Please let them through, Genma.”  After a glance over his shoulder the doorman shrugged, stepping back to allow them through.  Hinata swallowed and started forward, Naruto and Sasuke stepping in right behind her.

The room was small and swathed in darkness along all sides.  A single light hung from the stone ceiling, bathing the center in a circle of pale illumination.  The strange set up made it difficult to see the faces of those standing just outside of the light, though a few profiles were familiar.  The Hokage was given away by his hat, of course, and Kakashi’s hair was hard to mistake.  The rest were unrecognizable shadows, looming all around them and shifting in the darkness.

Haku was at the center of the room, his hands bound behind him.  He had been forced to kneel there, blindfolded and in the same clothes he had been wearing when he had arrived in Konoha; his garments looked ragged and like they hadn’t been washed.  Despite his condition the boy was still, and what could be seen of his face was completely placid.  Haku didn’t appear even mildly troubled by the circumstances.

“Hyuga Hinata,” the Hokage’s voice sounded again, still touched with a tone of amusement.  “Uchiha Sasuke.  Uzumaki Naruto.”  As he stated each of their names they bowed, taking their place in the light just in front of Haku.  “What is it that you wish to say?”

“Pardon me, Hokage-sama.”  The voice belonged to one of the shadows at the old man’s side.  His face was shrouded like the others, but his head seemed to be slightly compressed as if by bandages, and one of his arms was held up towards his chest like it might be injured and placed in a sling.  “Ibiki’s interrogation of the boy revealed that he had been working closely with Zabuza for many years.  He attempted to kill four shinobi and a client of the Leaf.  We know also that he has aided in the murder of many more outside of our own village.  All of this he has done of his own free will, and by a majority decision his sentence was given.”

“I am aware, Danzo,” the Sandaime said with a sigh.  “But no life should be taken lightly.  Death is final.”  He let the words sink in for a few seconds before continuing.  “We would be doing our youth a disservice by spurning their pleas, and only prove that our village is not a just one.”  Danzo seemed to tense for a moment, then sighed and stepped back.  “Please proceed, Team Seven.”

“What are you doing?” Haku whispered, sounding distant but calm.

“Trying to help,” Naruto responded quietly, nodding to Hinata.  “Shush and let us.”  Haku raised his head slightly, mouth working as though he couldn’t have found words even if he had wanted to.  Hinata stepped forward then, only a pace in front of her friends, and spoke.

“We have come to request clemency for Haku, and offer our own testimony in hopes that you might reconsider his sentence.”  Behind her, Haku’s lips parted in what could only be disbelief.  “To begin, I’d like to tell of my own experiences.

“I encountered Haku once before our battle at Bridge Seven.  At the time I was alone, and I believe he could have easily killed me had he wished to.”  A few murmurs from around the room started up and died away quickly as she continued, hands held tightly together in front of her.  “From that instance I was able to understand a little about Haku, mainly that he is not an innately violent or cruel person.  His motivation to live was in Momochi Zabuza, who had taken him in at a young and impressionable age.  I believe that, despite Zabuza’s ways, he did care for Haku.  Because of the bond they shared, and the circumstances of his upbringing, I believe that he should be offered leniency on account of his actions.  He is a kind person, Hokage-sama.  I think even kind people can be used by those with ill intentions.”  She looked around, pausing for effect like they had practiced.  “If this sentence is carried out without granting him the chance to prove himself a friend of Konoha, as I believe he can be, it would be travesty.”  Hinata bowed and stepped back, shaking visibly.

Naruto stepped forward as his friend returned to stand in front of Haku.  As they passed one another he purposefully stepped too close, finding her hand and grasping it tightly for a fraction of a second.  He flashed an encouraging smile at her as he passed, and then he stood in front on his own.  He couldn’t see it, but Hinata had stopped trembling and stood facing the Hokage, silently thanking Naruto for giving her strength again to stand fast.

“Hokage-sama, I think I can explain Haku’s actions from a more personal perspective.”  That got people muttering again, though as before they quieted as Naruto continued.  “As Hinata-chan said,” he continued, not seeing her flush behind him, “Haku and Zabuza cared about each other, even if it was in a strange way.  But when I was about to kill Haku at the bridge, Zabuza got in my way, and sacrificed himself to save his friend.  Kakashi-sensei told me that, in Zabuza’s last seconds alive, he wanted us to know that Haku was a kind person, and not to be blamed for his actions against us.”  Against his own will Naruto’s voice grew more impassioned as he went on, though he consciously kept it respectfully low.  “I know what it’s like to have nothing, to have no one.  If I’d been given the same opportunity as Haku when I was younger, do you think I would have passed up on the chance to be with somebody who wanted me?”  Silence.  Not even the rustle of clothing could be heard, and his breathing suddenly felt loud in his own ears.  “I turned out okay because somebody cared enough to take me in, to show me what it means to be human.  Haku didn’t have that chance.  Zabuza may have ended up caring for him in the end, but he only wanted Haku as a tool to help accomplish his own goals.  But the thing is, he _wanted_ Haku, and that was more than anybody else had given him.  Please, don’t make the mistake of assuming he’s a bad person just because of the man he worked for.  Haku was led astray, but I know that he can be an ally if we give him the chance.”  By now he had gotten control of his voice again, and he ended on a sincere note.  With a bow he stepped back, fists clenched as his sides.

Sasuke looked around before he moved, a graceful step that barely disturbed his garments.  For a long moment he simply examined the gathered audience, seeming to see more than his friends had.  A few that his eyes traveled over shifted uncomfortably.  When his gaze finally settled on the Hokage, the old man noted that his Sharingan had been activated.  The boy’s eyes were hard, filled with confidence, defiance, and smoldering anger.

“Sandaime-sama,” he began calmly.  “I don’t believe that I have personal experience to offer in Haku’s defense, or even private encounters to judge his personality by.  However, what I do have is logic and reason, both of which tell me that his life should be spared.”  Sasuke paused there, taking a moment to sweep his gaze around the room again.  “You all read Kakashi’s report, yes?  I’m sure that in it were our accounts of what happened inside of Haku’s mirror technique.  In case you have forgotten, Haku allowed Hinata and I to live.”  That incited a few more mutters in the room, and even a stray snort.  “Had it been any other ninja, had Zabuza chosen to recruit a bloodthirsty killer, we would be dead right now.”  Sasuke stopped again, sweeping back to the Hokage.  “Does that sound like a murderer to you, Hokage-sama?  Does it sound like somebody who deserves to be sentenced to death, somebody who spared two defenseless genin?

I think, though, that we’ve covered just how we feel about Haku as a person.  But have you yet considered him as an asset?”  The Hokage smiled from the shadows, nodding slightly for the boy to continue.  “The three of us together were barely able to bring him down, and he possesses a rare bloodline trait as well.  He’s at least of chunin level right now; don’t you think that a reportedly kind, skilled ninja in possession of a potent kekkei genkai could be invaluable to the village?”

“We have already considered this.  It is–” Danzo began, but Sasuke cut him off sharply.

“Well consider it harder.”  It wasn’t loud; he barely spoke above a normal conversational volume.  However, the iron-clad ferocity could be felt by every individual present, and it stopped the other man in his tracks.  “You seem so willing to ignore what we say, to throw reason to the wayside.  What do we have to do say to convince you to spare his life?  What needs to be done to give him the chance he deserves?”  Complete silence filled the room again, broken this time only by the soft tapping of tears hitting the ground.

Haku was participating in the quiet, stunned but still kneeling, his face fully turned up towards them now.  As far as anyone might be able to tell, his expression was still blank, but the cloth covering the lower part of his eyes was darker than the rest.  Trails of tears led down to drip from his chin, freezing halfway down to clink lightly on the hard floor.  He didn’t understand why they were going out on a limb for him after all he had done.  Zabuza was dead; he no longer had a reason to live.  He was ready to die.  Why did they have to care so much?

Kakashi took his cue at Sasuke’s final appeal, stepping from the shadows to stand just behind his students.  “Hokage-sama,” he intoned, inclining his head politely.  “I had a chance to speak to Haku for several days before we returned to Konoha.  I agree with my students, and I trust their opinions in this matter.  I know that a pardon is out of the question, but I would request that he be released on strict probation under my supervision.  I will take full responsibility for his actions until such a time that he can be accepted as a full shinobi, and an ally of the Leaf.”

It was like the other bits of reticence throughout their speeches had been a practice run.  Silence hung heavy in the room, marred only by the soft buzz of the light above.  Seconds turned into years in that oppressive quiet, and by the time the Hokage spoke more than one bead of sweat had formed on more than one brow.

“Kakashi,” he began in the same calm voice, eyes sparkling in the dimness.  Hinata was biting her lip harder than normal, and Naruto and Sasuke held their breath.  “I find your students’ reasoning compelling enough to grant your request for probation.  However . . .” They caught their breath again at the exhale, hanging on the Hokage’s every word.  “You must understand that the boy is your responsibility.  If he harms any citizen of the Hidden Leaf, or breaks any of our laws, you will stand with him in his sentencing.  Do you understand?”

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi said without hesitating, bowing again.  “I understand and accept the responsibility.”

“You can’t–” another voice began again, but was cut off once more.

“I can, Homura,” the Sandaime said firmly, his voice taking on the edge of authority.  “As Hokage I am permitted to alter a sentence as I see fit.  You know as well as any that I do not abuse this power.  I am choosing to put my trust in Kakashi and his team, and in Haku.”

“I agree with the Hiruzen’s decision.” This voice was female, though weathered with age.  She had also addressed the Sandaime by his first name.  “The child may prove useful in the future.”  Slowly, a murmur of assent rippled through the room.  If the Hokage and even one of his advisors saw promise where others did not, it was worth the chance.

“Thank you, Hokage-sama.  Utatane-sama.”  Kakashi bowed again, then turned to the genin.  “Wait for me outside.  Haku and I will be out soon.”  They nodded, and all glanced once back at Haku before hurriedly complying.  Even Hinata had to resist the urge to sprint from the small room in a mixture of sheer adrenaline, fear, and elation.  It was as unbelievable, but they had done it.  Haku was safe.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Naruto leaned against the wall outside.  His dress shirt had been unfolded and now hung all around him, held up only by the makeshift belt.  The black undershirt clung to him, what skin showed on his arms and neck glistening with sweat.  The warm summer air did little to help him cool down, but the heat was far from his mind at the moment.

“Yeah!” he whooped again into the night.  Sasuke and Hinata both smiled at him wearily, though it was clear they were more relieved than excited as he was.  Sasuke had pulled his yukata back so that most of his lean torso and shoulders were exposed, similarly covered in perspiration.  Poor Hinata didn’t have the option to modestly cool off like her friends, but she had loosened her kimono slightly to at least get some air flow going.  It had been a stressful night.

They stood quietly together for nearly twenty minutes, the air seeming to cool as they began to calm down.  By the time the doors to the tower opened they felt completely normal again, though they tensed as Kakashi appeared a second later.  Haku followed just behind him wearing a lost expression.

“Great job you three,” Kakashi said approvingly, nodding.  Naruto beamed.  Hinata pressed her index fingers together and ducked her head, though she looked pleased and relieved.  Sasuke, though, just smirked at him.

“You knew that the Hokage had the final say,” he said, shaking his head.  “That’s why you wanted us to come.  If we all came and defended Haku in front of everybody, it gave him the perfect excuse to grant Haku’s probation.”  Kakashi didn’t respond to that, but he winked mischievously.

“Those were some pretty eloquent speeches, especially yours Hinata.  How long did it take you to get the words right?”

“Three or four hours,” Hinata said timidly, blushing lightly at the attention.  “I learned how to speak properly at my home, and my tutor had me memorize words often used at formal occasions.”

“So that’s how these two managed to sound halfway decent,” Kakashi mused, nodding slowly to emphasize the jest.  Sasuke gave him a level look, though couldn’t stop the smirk from creeping into his expression.

“You bet,” Naruto stated proudly, nudging Hinata’s shoulder with his.  “Without Hinata we would’ve been tripping all over ourselves in there.”  It was then that he took notice of Haku again, who had been staring at them in turn, face completely blank.  “Oh yeah, hey Haku.  Glad you made it out okay.”  He gave the other boy his best grin.

“Why?” Haku asked hollowly, empty eyes trying to work out the mystery in front of him.

“Why what?” Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow and letting his smile fade to a small quirk.

“Why did you save my life?”

“You heard what we said.  I mean, some of the stuff we may have exaggerated or played up a little, but we still think you’re a nice person.  Besides, you didn’t kill Hinata or Sasuke.  We can just call it even now.”  Naruto’s smile returned as he laced his fingers behind his head.

It wasn’t much, but Haku’s expression twitched, and fresh tears began to well and fall.  Here were three strangers, people whose lives he had threatened, and they had fought for his life.  They had defended him, and what’s more they believed in him.  He was _wanted_ somewhere, and even if it was too much for him to puzzle out, it felt real.

“I . . .” he started, his voice thick.  Everything felt heavy all of a sudden, and the world was spinning.  Kakashi caught the boy before he fell.  He blinked, then looked up at the other three.

“I think he fainted.”  Kakashi sounded relatively amused as he leaned down and lifted the unconscious boy carefully.  “Well, I hadn’t thought too much about this possibility, but he’s going to need somewhere to stay.  I could keep him with me, but I think it would be better if we got him a place to stay near one of you.”  They all looked at him curiously at that, and he shrugged.  “You three fought for him, and I know he’ll appreciate that.  It’ll go a long way towards rehabilitation if he can be near people who might one day be his friends.  As long as I can check up on him regularly, it doesn’t matter where he stays.”

“He can stay with me.”  They all turned to look at Sasuke, who glanced at each of them and shrugged.  “My place is big enough for two people, and I have a spare bedroll at least.  He can stay there until he’s ready to find his own apartment.”  Kakashi nodded after a few seconds, though spoke as soon as he began walking next to Sasuke.

“I know you all have faith in him, and I truly believe he’s a good person as well.  But be careful, especially if you’re going to have him living with you.”  Sasuke nodded as they walked; he had already thought it over.  “Alright then.  I’ll bring him over.  Naruto, Hinata,” he called back, “Thank you again.  Get some sleep; I still expect you at nine tomorrow for missions.”

“Only if you’re there on time, sensei,” Naruto chuckled.  He turned and winked at Hinata and started off towards Iruka’s, wondering why she was blushing again.  Without either of them fully realizing it, they walked back home, hand-in-hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks.
> 
> I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Even though I have a lot of things planned out, it’s always fun to see their development in action. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
> 
> Thank you to my beta, Rhi, for always doing fantastic editing. I’d be a mess without it.
> 
> I also wanted to note that I’ll be keeping my chapter progress updated on my profile from now on. Whichever chapter I’m working on will be listed, as well as an up-to-date word count. You may be fairly familiar with the length of my chapters now, but just in case I included an average for reference.
> 
> Thank you for the great response to Chapter 7; I appreciate all the reviews, favorites, and follows. It just makes me want to write more for every one I receive.
> 
> See you next time!


	9. Team Gai

Sasuke’s scarlet eyes flickered around, taking in each and every one of the projectiles surrounding him.  His feet crunched as he shifted; the ground was covered in a thick layer of long, sharp needles of ice.  More were appearing, the floating tendrils coalescing rapidly until he could hardly see through them.  With a sharp nod, he grit his teeth and crouched, and a moment later the spikes began to plunge towards him.

He moved with feline grace and was quickly lost in a cloud of frost, whirling with a kunai in each hand.  Within the icy dust he twisted, pivoted, and deflected every shard that would otherwise have struck him.  It was a blinding dance, one that had Sasuke lost in the shroud surrounding him.  By the time the last of the icicles had flung themselves towards Sasuke the haze had begun to thin.  After a moment he was visible again, kneeling on the bed of frost and breathing hard.

“One more time,” Sasuke panted, rising shakily.  “I was too sloppy that time.”

“I can’t, Sasuke-kun,” Haku breathed, leaning heavily against a tree nearby.  The boy looked exhausted, although he was smiling and shaking his head.  “I don’t have enough chakra to do it again.  Besides, that’s your fourth time in a row without taking a hit.”  Despite how tired he was, he looked pleased.  “It’s only been four days since I started going all out; I can’t believe you’re already able to keep up.”

“Like Naruto always says,” Sasuke sighed, smirking as he collapsed into the grass by Haku’s tree, “I cheat.  There’s no way I’d be able to do it without my Sharingan active.”

“Maybe,” Haku admitted, still smiling, “But you _do_ have the Sharingan.”  Sasuke shrugged, closing his eyes and allowing them to change back to normal.  Haku watched him for a moment before tilting his head to the side curiously.  “Did you three always train this hard?”

 “I guess so.  Well, yes and no.  We always trained together, and always took it seriously.  But since we came back from Wave Country it’s been . . . Different I guess.”  Sasuke grew quiet for a time, dark eyes fluttering open to watch a few clouds passing by overhead.  “It was our first time as a team in a life threatening situation; it turned out to be several of them, actually.”  Haku blanched slightly and looked away.  “I think we all realized afterwards that in order to keep each other safe, we’d have to get stronger.”

“Each other?  Not yourselves?” Haku asked, glancing back curiously.  Sasuke shrugged again, but said nothing.  It had been a rhetorical question, really; Haku understood all too well what it meant to gain strength to protect another.  He smiled faintly.  “I envy you and your friends.  To have such love and dedication for one another is truly wonderful.  I . . . I am sorry that I–”

“We’ve been over this, Haku,” Sasuke cut in sharply, though with no anger in his voice.  “All of us have spoken to you about it, and it’s in the past.  We’re alive, and you’re on our side now.  That’s all that matters.”  Haku looked away again, but nodded after a moment.  “And you can have friends like that too, now,” he continued, closing his eyes again.  “Hell, you’ve got three already.”  The older boy turned back towards him and blinked, tilting his head again.

“Three what?” he asked blankly, as if Sasuke’s words hadn’t registered at all.

“Friends, Haku.  We’re your friends; Hinata, Naruto and I are.  Why else would we be spending time together?”  Sometimes it was difficult speaking to Haku, who seemed to have little to no understanding of how normal relationships worked.  It had taken them most of a week to convince him that they held no ill will towards him, and it still came up occasionally.  Trying to explain how healthy, mutual friendships worked was turning out to be a daunting task.

“Sasuke’s right, Haku-chan.”  They both looked up as Hinata approached.  Sasuke waved a tired hand, and Haku turned to smile at her.  “We’re your friends, but only if you want us to be,” she said gently, though the conviction in her voice trailed off near the end.  Haku didn’t completely understand why, but he could tell the girl was distracted.

“Thank you, Hinata-chan,” Haku said warmly.  He still didn’t understand how one became friends with another person, but they kept insisting it had already happened.  “Where’s Naruto-san?  Aren’t you two usually together?”  Hinata flushed slightly at that, and she stopped near the tree to press her index fingers together absently.

“He said he had a meeting with the Hokage this morning,” she explained, sinking onto the grass and folding her hands.  “He’ll be meeting us at the bridge around ten; Kakashi-sensei usually gets there about thirty minutes after that, even though he has us meet there at nine every morning.”  Hinata giggled lightly at that.  It was a little high pitched and awkward, like she wasn’t sure how to do it right or was worried that it might be the wrong time.  Sasuke lifted his head to blink at her.  Had she really just laughed, and at a comment she had put forward herself?

“Is he asking about it?” he asked casually, settling back down.  Haku looked down at him, then back to Hinata, frowning a little.  She nodded, biting at her lower lip as her brow creased with worry.  Sasuke nodded back, saying nothing.  Haku knew better than to ask about this; there were some things he could not yet be trusted to be told.  Many of them, it seemed, had to do with Naruto, and might have a connection with the strange power he had used at the bridge over a month before.

“How are you two doing with training?” Hinata asked.  Sasuke opened his mouth to respond, but Haku beat him to it.

“He’s incredible,” he asserted with a small, proud smile.  “I’ve been using my Thousand Needles technique at full speed and he can deflect or avoid all of them now.”  Haku gestured to the thinning coat of needles nearby, most of which were already half melted.  “I get exhausted before he does now.”  It was Hinata’s turn to blink now; Sasuke had shrugged as expected, but there was a bit of pink that had risen to his cheeks at Haku’s compliment.  She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen her friend blush, if ever.

“It’s not as effective as your divination-thing, though,” he remarked at Hinata, “But short of not being inside when the needles come it’s the best I’ve got.”  Haku shrugged and gave Hinata a wry smile; he was getting used to how stubborn – and often humble – Sasuke could be.  Hinata shook her head but didn’t object; she, too, knew how stubborn he could be.  “Have you and Naruto figured something out for him?”

“Not yet,” she sighed, looking crestfallen.  “He’s still trying really hard, and his speed has increased a good deal as a result.  But . . .”

“But it’s a lot harder without a bloodline ability,” Sasuke finished for her, sounding frustrated for his friend’s sake.  They both knew that Naruto would never give up his training, and he was at it harder than ever since Sasuke had ‘surpassed him’.  In some ways it was a good thing; he would get stronger because he had more motivation to.  But fighting Haku had made them realize the need for a defense against more advanced abilities.  Hinata’s technique was the most effective by far, though she was working hard to master a more advanced variation.  Sasuke had his Sharingan, and with it and Haku’s help he had been able to increase his physical capabilities enough to develop an effective strategy.

“He’ll do it,” Hinata insisted, “You and I both know he will.”  Sasuke nodded, though he seemed less confident than she was.  Haku merely watched the exchange, eyes alight with interest.

 _They have such faith in one another_ , he mused, an old sad smile creeping onto his features.  _Maybe that’s what real friendship is.  Trust; they believe in each other no matter what._   And they believed in _him._   Even after what he had done to them, they wanted to be around him, to trust in him.  Maybe it wasn’t the same kind of friendship yet, but a hope began to burn inside of him that one day it might be.  He would like that.

“Alright,” Sasuke said after a few minutes of silence, sitting up slowly and covering a yawn.  “I’m going to head back and shower before nine.  I still don’t get why we get there on time when we know he’ll be late.”  Haku had straightened as he mentioned leaving, offering a hand to help him up.  Sasuke took the offer without missing a beat, rising and glancing down at Hinata.  “Did you want to grab some breakfast with Haku and I afterwards?  I think we’re going to go to Ichiraku’s.”

“Sure; I’ll meet you there in half an hour.  I need to do my morning stretches first.”  She winced slightly at her own words, and Sasuke smirked.  Hinata had pulled a muscle a few weeks earlier while practicing one of her jyuken techniques, and had since resolved to increase her flexibility.  Haku and Sasuke bid her farewell and set off for their apartment a moment later.  Hinata breathed in and out deeply for a minute or so, removing her sandals and folding her legs so that each of her feet rested on the opposite knee.  She smoothed her features and tried to relax, enjoying the morning sunlight that warmed her face.  As she moved into her series of stretches she tried her best not to think about Naruto and his conversation with the Sandaime.  She only succeeded in part.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Naruto sat on a bench outside of the Hokage’s office, his foot tapping steadily on the wood floor.  He hadn’t been waiting long, but the impending conversation wasn’t going to be on a light topic.  Outside of his friends – minus Haku – only Iruka knew that he had learned of the Kyuubi sealed inside of him.  The Sandaime had always been a calm, reasonable man, but this was a delicate matter.

 ** _Quit sweating, boy._**  The voice wasn’t nearly as loud as it had always been in the chamber, but it still rumbled through his thoughts clearly enough to be discerned as something separate from his own.  **_The old man probably realized that you’d figure it out eventually._**

 _Quiet,_ Naruto growled back, immediately annoyed.  _When you suggested an easier way to communicate I agreed on the condition that only I would initiate conversations.  If you don’t mind your own business I’ll have the Hokage tighten the seal instead of loosen it._   Instead of a biting retort, the Kyuubi chuckled at him.  It was odd to have the echo of a monstrous laugh bouncing around in his head.

 ** _It is my business as much as it is yours, mortal.  You would not have the seal tightened in any case, not when it’s your precious hope to help your little friends._**   The voice faded then, and the fox’s presence in his mind receded quietly.  The demon remained in the background, and Naruto could feel it if he chose to.  He ignored it, trying not to let the Kyuubi set him off.  The worst part was that he was right: Naruto wouldn’t tighten the seal.  In his eyes both Hinata and Sasuke were becoming stronger than him.  He was proud and happy for his friends, but at the same time he was struggling to keep up.  The Kyuubi knew that.  Part of him felt he should rely on his own strength, but another side laced with darker reasoning told him that the power of the fox demon would be a boon for him.  The latter argument had won out in the end.

“Uzumaki Naruto, the Hokage will see you now.”  Naruto glanced up to see an ANBU agent holding the door open.  He hadn’t heard a thing.  The boy nodded and rose, stepping forward into the office with a deep breath.

The Hokage’s office was neatly organized, and surprisingly short on clutter.  It looked like the headquarters of a man who, among other things, didn’t spend more time there than was necessary.  The floor was different there than in most rooms, made of smooth, bronze-colored stone slabs.  A few bookshelves ran along the walls on either side of the door, filled with thick tomes and piles of scrolls.  At the far end of the room sat the Hokage, in front of a stretch of windows that curved around a third of the back wall.  His desk was occupied only by a short stack of books and papers, piled up carefully and set aside.  The old man looked as placid as ever, chin resting lightly on his laced fingers as he leaned forward onto the desk.  The door closed behind Naruto as he reached the center of the room, where he bowed and waited to be addressed.

“Welcome, Naruto,” he began pleasantly, smiling very slightly.  “What can I do for you this morning?”  His tone was grandfatherly, like it always had been when he addressed the boy.  Even when he was young and pulling pranks through the village, the Sandaime had always treated him with compassion and patience.

“Thank you for meeting with me, Hokage-sama.”  Naruto took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and readied himself.  “I came to talk to you about the Kyuubi.”

Had the old man frozen Naruto wouldn’t have been surprised.  If his breath had caught in his throat, or his eyes widened, it would only be reasonable.  Although it would have been out of character, Naruto would have even accepted an outburst.  But the Hokage didn’t even blink.  He just sat there, looking at the boy with the most impassive expression.  A moment later his eyebrow quirked upward, though it indicated curiosity rather than surprise.

“Yes?” he asked calmly.  _Now_ Naruto was off balance.

“I – ah . . .” he started, shaking himself after a few seconds and taking another breath.  “I found out about the Kyuubi almost a year ago, from Mizuki when he attacked me in the forest.”  The Hokage said nothing, merely nodding after a moment for Naruto to continue.  “Since then I’ve had . . . Interactions with it.  I’ve spoken to the Kyuubi a few times now.”  Finally the old man blinked.  “I figured out how to talk to it whenever I need or want to.  And as much as I hate to admit it, Sasuke, Hinata, and I would have all died at some point had I not been able to tap into its power.  It was an accident both times,” he continued quickly, as if the admission to using the Kyuubi’s chakra was reprehensible.  “But it did save our lives.

“I . . . I think I can use its chakra, Hokage-sama.  We talked it over and he agreed to help me with it if I agreed to loosen the seal.”  Now the Hokage’s eyes narrowed, and he leaned back slowly in his chair.

“No,” came his response a moment later.  Naruto blinked and began to protest, but a raised hand stopped him cold.  “I understand what you are saying, but even if I could do it I would not.  The Fourth created that seal himself, and whether by design or by flaw it is weakening on its own.  That is why you are able to access the Kyuubi’s chakra now, I suspect.”  Naruto swallowed and said nothing.  “Naruto,” the Sandaime continued in a more gentle tone.  “I cannot forbid you from using that chakra, but I caution you that the consequences could be grave.  Not only for you, but for the village, and for your friends.”

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked, momentarily forgetting his manners.  The old man sighed and folded his hands, considering the boy seriously for a while before explaining.

“Naruto, I don’t wholly understand the Kyuubi or its chakra, but it is the demon that once destroyed our village and claimed an untold number of lives in its rampage.  The tainted chakra that it held is monstrous as well, and that is what is sealed within you.”  He allowed his words to sink in for a few seconds, still studying Naruto carefully.  “From the reports I received from Team Seven, you seem to have limited control over the power that has come to you in times of need.  The first time, in the tenth training ground, I felt the Kyuubi’s chakra spike, from all the way over here.  And Naruto, that wasn’t even a fraction of what the real Kyuubi’s chakra feels like.”  His voice had hardened there, emphasizing his point.  Naruto swallowed again and looked a bit pale.  “If you take too much of that chakra, it’s possible that it would consume you.  If that were to happen, it’s possible that the demon fox could manifest itself using your body as a vessel.  I have a feeling that, if it’s asking you to loosen the seal, its intentions might lie there.”

Naruto was a bit taken aback at all of that.  He knew that there had to be risks involved, but he hadn’t imagined that the power he had drawn upon had been only the smallest portion of the Kyuubi’s energy.  An involuntary shiver ran down his spine at the thought of even double that chakra; he didn’t even want to think about what a hundred times might do to him.  _Probably tear me apart._

“Hokage-sama,” Naruto began again, tentatively now.  “I understand; I won’t try to loosen the seal.  Not yet, at least.”  The Sandaime blinked and tilted his head to one side, as if trying to figure out the boy’s next move.  “If I leave the seal like this, not too much chakra can get out, right?”  The Hokage considered for a moment before nodding slowly.  “Do you think it would be safe if I started with as little as possible, then worked my way up?  The Kyuubi said it would help me control it.”

“In return for what?” Sarutobi asked mildly, though his eyes were hard.  “I wouldn’t put it past the Kyuubi to trick you, Naruto.  Have you made any deals with it already?”

“No,” he lied quickly, “It just wants more freedom.  Not externally, I don’t think.  He’s basically a prisoner and . . . Well I think he’s lonely or something.”  Naruto seemed flustered at that last part, and not entirely sure why he felt that way.  A snarl echoed from the back of his mind but he shoved it away.  The Hokage was looking at him like he might be insane.  “For now I think he just wants to talk to me more.  I mean, it must be pretty bad being sealed away in a kid for twelve years right?”

“You shouldn’t allow yourself to feel such sympathy for the Kyuubi,” the Hokage sighed, eyes softening again.  Naruto was a kind boy, and possibly too empathetic for his own good.  “But,” he continued, rubbing at his chin absently, “I suppose if you pace yourself I can’t object.  I had expected you to learn of the Kyuubi sooner or later, and perhaps learning to control it would serve you well.  However, I will be assigning an ANBU agent to keep an eye on you.”  Naruto blinked, but the Sandaime waved a hand dismissively.  “You won’t ever see him, and he’ll likely only be there when you’re using the Kyuubi’s chakra.  It’s kind of hard to miss, after all.”  There was an amused twinkle in the old man’s eyes now.  “I’ll inform all of the ANBU and jounin not to worry about random Kyuubi-like chakra surges.  Just try and keep your training to secluded areas as to not draw attention to yourself, alright?”

“Yes, Hokage-sama; I will.  Thank you.”  Naruto couldn’t help but grin as he bowed, exchanging a brief farewell before departing.

 _Oy, fox,_ he started as soon as the room’s threshold was cleared.  _Was what he said true?  About your chakra consuming me and you basically escaping?_

 ** _If I told you no, would you believe me?_** The Kyuubi sounded annoyed; it seemed that the Hokage was telling him the truth.  **_I don’t need your pity, by the way; I’m practically an immortal being and I do not get lonely._**  Naruto found himself chuckling at that as he exited the building.

 _Whatever.  Look, I’m still willing to make you the deal._   There was a pause from the demon.  It was difficult recognizing the feeling of surprise from somebody – or something – else in his own mind, but it seemed that the Kyuubi had been caught off guard.  _But I’m not going to loosen the seal – or even look for a way to – until I can fully control as much chakra as you can give me right now.  After that, we’ll find a way to work out the seal problem._

 ** _And you expect me to comply with that?_** he asked contemptuously.  **_You want to simply take and control my power under my guidance, without anything given up front?_**

 _I was thinking of it more like working together._ Naruto shrugged, both physically and mentally.  _There’s no point in trying to fight you for control; you’re way stronger than I am.  Besides, I let you out of your cage, so to speak.  Now we can at least talk.  I don’t really have much else to give you right now._ It was a long moment before the Kyuubi’s laugh began to reverberate through his head.

 ** _Interesting, mortal; you’ve got guts, and at least you can respect the difference in our power._**   A few seconds later he felt the demon nod, which was an eerie thought in and of itself.  Hearing a voice in his head was one thing.  Being able to feel its actions and the occasional emotion was another.  **_Alright, I’ll help you out.  But this isn’t going to be easy, kid.  You’re an insect trying to wrestle a mountain._**

 _Sasuke always tells me I’m stubborn,_ Naruto said with a smirk, leaping onto the nearest building to make his way quickly towards the bridge on the north side of the village.  _Just don’t be a jerk about it and things might work out alright._   The Kyuubi laughed again before its presence faded, leaving Naruto to consider his meeting with the Hokage and the conversation with the fox.  This was going to be a challenge, but if would make him stronger and able to help his friends then it would be well worth it.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“You guys are the best!” Naruto bubbled between bites of ramen.  He was eating out of one of two bowls sitting on the bridge railing, one of which still had a plastic covering.

“We never would have heard the end of it if we didn’t bring you some,” Sasuke said dryly, though he held a small smirk as he shrugged.  “It was Hinata’s idea, though.”  Hinata flushed and fidgeted with the hem of her coat, mumbling something about ramen and courtesy.  Naruto grinned at her.

“Thanks, Hinata-chan; you know me too well.”  Although she turned an even darker shade of red, a small, appreciative smile tugged at the corners of her lips.  That was one of several changes they had begun noticing about her as of late.  Hinata wouldn’t be herself without the blushing and fidgeting, but she had begun to accept compliments a little better.  She smiled more instead of just looking at the ground.  On rare occasion, as Sasuke had witnessed earlier, she even laughed.  It might have been a delicate, quiet thing, but it was genuine mirth.  Naruto didn’t quite understand it, but he was glad to see his friend happier and more open.

“How’d your training go, Sasuke?  And where’s Haku?” Naruto asked, looking around.  When he had arrived only Hinata and Sasuke had been there, waiting with his ramen.

“He’s reading back at my place; his chakra was really low after this morning, so he wanted to rest.”  Sasuke told Naruto about his progress that morning and was met with a broad grin.

“Way to go!” Naruto said enthusiastically, holding out his fist towards Sasuke.  The other boy rolled his eyes and rapped his knuckles against his friend’s.  “I knew you’d be able to do it.  What do you think you’ll do next?”

“I’m not sure,” Sasuke shrugged, leaning back against a wooden beam of the rail.  “Kakashi-sensei says that the best way to improve is to increase my strength and speed.  My Sharingan can increase my reaction time and let me copy some techniques, but he said that it’s limited by what my body can handle.  So the more I train physically, the better I’ll be able to utilize the Sharingan’s power.”  Naruto nodded; Sasuke had mentioned something similar before.  “So,” he continued, voice growing serious again, “What did the Hokage say?”

“He said I can do it,” Naruto beamed, “But whenever I’m training there’ll be an ANBU agent watching from somewhere, I guess as a safety precaution.”  He quickly relayed his meeting with the village leader to his friends.  They were as taken aback as he had been upon hearing what could happen if he lost control.  Hinata looked distraught, and Sasuke seemed pensive.

“Naruto-kun,” Hinata began, releasing the lip she had been biting.  “That sounds really dangerous; are you sure you . . .” She trailed off, blinking at Naruto as he smiled and shook his head.

“You know I have to try.  Besides, the Hokage said that if the seal stays like it is, only so much of the Kyuubi’s chakra can leak out.  According to the fox, unless I remove the seal myself it won’t go anywhere any time soon.  And,” he continued, setting down his empty bowl and picking up the other to start on, “The Kyuubi agreed to help me out even without loosening the seal.”

“Are you sure you can trust him?” Sasuke asked skeptically.  “I mean, I already think it’s pretty weird that you can just talk to him whenever you want now.  Plus I mean, it’s a demon.  Demons aren’t exactly famous for making friends with people.”

“I don’t know,” Naruto admitted, shrugging and taking a moment to chew through a few noodles.  “But I just get this feeling that he’s not all that bad.  I mean, he’s an ass – er, Jerk, sorry,” he amended, glancing sheepishly at Hinata.  “But I . . . I dunno.  I just think he wants to help.  Maybe it’s fun for him, or maybe it’s just a good excuse to be out of that cage.”  He shrugged again and fell silent, poking at his ramen distractedly.  Sasuke seemed unconvinced, and Hinata looked more worried than before, but they both knew that Naruto would go through with it no matter what.  He had promised himself that he would get stronger in order to protect his friends, like they all had.  And if it allowed him to protect the village at the same time, it would be well worth it.

Kakashi arrived a few minutes later, making some excuse involving a black cat and a ladder.  “You three will have a break from missions for a few days,” he said blithely.  They had a moment to blink at him, then each other, before he continued.  “I’m going to be out of the village for three to five days, depending on how things go.”

“You’re going on a mission?” Naruto asked; he seemed genuinely surprised.  “I didn’t think you could do that if you were in charge of a genin team.”

“I didn’t say I was going on a mission,” Kakashi responded, “But I didn’t say I wasn’t, either.  All you need to know is that I’ll be gone, and I made arrangements for your training in the meantime.”  Now he had their attention.  They had almost exclusively trained together, even when not under Kakashi’s guidance.  “You’ll be joining Team Gai every morning until I get back, starting today.  Any questions?”  Sasuke shrugged, but didn’t otherwise react.  Naruto seemed nonplussed but compliant.  Hinata, however, had gone a bit pale.

“A-ano, Kakashi-sensei?” she began, and they were surprised to see her stammer rise up almost immediately.  “Can we um . . . Could we train on our own, instead?”  Hinata wasn’t looking at anybody, instead choosing to study the wooden boards under her feat.  Her friends looked at her, then looked back to Kakashi, who seemed like he might actually be weighing her request.  She looked uncomfortable at the very least, and even a little distressed.

“Sorry, Hinata,” Kakashi said after a moment, sounding like he meant it.  “I think you three could learn a lot from his team; they’re one year your senior, and they’re very talented genin.  I just recommend not getting Gai on a rant about ‘youth’, or you’ll be sick for hours.”  Naruto and Sasuke looked at him quizzically, but Hinata kept staring down.  “Let’s go; I’ll introduce you before I have to leave.”  He turned and began walking slowly away, prompting his students to follow after.

“What’s wrong, Hinata?” Naruto asked almost immediately, keeping his voice low.  Her grip on her coat tightened a little, and when she finally spoke it came out tense and hushed.

“My cousin is on Team Gai.”  Hinata glanced up at them, noting their confused expressions and ducking her head again.  “He’s from the branch family, and we . . . We never got along very well.”  She left it at that.  Naruto looked confused and worried, glancing over her head to Sasuke.  The other boy shrugged, but appeared to be concerned in his own way.  Almost at the same time – Naruto beat him by only a moment – they each took one of her hands as they walked.  Hinata brought her head back up, looking at each of them in turn.

“Don’t worry, Hinata-chan,” Naruto started with a grin, giving her hand a familiar squeeze.  “We’ll be there too.”  It wasn’t much, but he didn’t know enough about the situation to make any brash statements.  Sasuke merely walked along, providing his support through silent contact.  Hinata bit at her lower lip and nodded, squeezing Naruto’s hand back a little harder than usual.  He winked at her, and was glad to see a familiar flush rise briefly in her features.

It took only a few minutes to arrive at the training area Team Gai was using.  It was surrounded by trees, and aside from a large boulder and a taijutsu training dummy it looked fairly unremarkable.  The scene that they were met with, however, could only be described as chaos.  On the other side of the large rock weapons littered the ground, and more seemed to be flying from the trees every second.  They were aimed at a severe looking boy with long black hair held back by a forehead protector.  He wore simple black shorts, a beige shirt that seemed a little too large, and bandages that covered most of his right arm and leg.  But it was his eyes that really drew Naruto’s attention.  They were white, just like Hinata’s, and the veins surrounding them bulged with the telltale sign of an activated Byakugan.

The Hyuuga boy spun in smooth circles, deftly deflecting each of the projectiles that might hit him with his _hands._   They glowed blue with the chakra enveloping them, a display that was both impressive and dizzying as he moved.  Naruto almost didn’t see the pink blur that shot from the trees towards the boy, meeting him as the last kunai went spinning into the ground.  He didn’t miss a beat, however.  His whirl stopped abruptly as one of his forearms struck the heavy metal of a tonfa in an outward block, the other hand mirroring the movement on an identical weapon.

The girl that now stood locked with her adversary was of average height, with dark brown hair done up in two neat buns.  Her face was set in a determined grimace as she strained against him.  Her lean, straining muscles were clearly visible, as the light pink top she wore was cut off at the shoulders.  With a frustrated ‘tsk’ she thrust her knee upward, forcing her opponent to bend backwards as a kunai shot towards him from below.  In the same movement, as his defense weakened, she jerked back and her weapons disappeared in a cloud of smoke, replaced by a kusarigama.  In an instant she was on the offensive again, whirling her chain and sickle with trained precision.

Naruto and his friends could have watched the battle until its conclusion if not for the _other_ pair occupying the clearing.  Both were dressed in tight, forest green jumpsuits and wore bright orange leg warmers.  Both had black, bowl-cut hair that seemed to shine in any light.  Both had opted to wear their forehead protectors as belts, backed by a red cloth.  And best of all, both were standing on their heads, rotating slowly in circles as the older of the two exuberantly instructed the younger.

“Lee!” he bellowed, eyes afire with strange passion.  “This is the essence of youth!  You must train your senses to be focused no matter the situation!”  Every sentence was a joyous exclamation, even though his face was beginning to darken from the blood flowing to it.

“Yes Gai-sensei!” Lee chirped as sweat ran up his face towards the ground.  He was looking a bit queasy, but seemed to be trying to match his teacher’s enthusiasm.  All in all it was an odd – and somewhat disturbing – spectacle.  Even Hinata was staring openly, and Sasuke had a look of mixed disgust and embarrassment.

“Eyebrows . . .” Naruto muttered shakily, his own eyebrow twitching once or twice.  All at once the commotion in the area came to a halt.  The two that were sparring abruptly stopped and faced them warily.  Gai kicked up from his position and landed solidly on his feet, while Lee wobbled and toppled over ungracefully.

“Kakashi!” Gai cried, smiling so wide that Naruto was concerned that his face might break.  “Late as always; you’ll never grow stronger if you always procrastinate.  You need to seize your youth!  Ah, and these must be your students.  I am Maito Gai, Kakashi’s eternal rival!”  Almost everything the man said came out loud and joyous.  “This is my protégé Rock Lee!  And over there are the other members of Konoha’s strongest team – Tenten and Hyuuga Neji!”

“Sensei,” Tenten groaned, burying her face in one of her palms.  “They’ve already started looking at us weird because of you and Lee.”  Neji remained silent nearby, his expressionless eyes fixed on Hinata.  She fidgeted under his gaze, looking away quickly.

“Yo, Gai,” Kakashi replied, sounding as bored as usual.  “These are my students and members of Team Seven: Hyuuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto.”  They bowed in turn to the eccentric group, each back to his or her mostly-normal demeanor.  Sasuke appeared to be as nonchalant as Kakashi, Naruto looked curious but friendly, and Hinata was reserved and slightly pink.  “I’ll be leaving them in your care for a few days.”

“Yosh!” came the tall man’s exuberant response.  Lee looked from his sensei to the newcomers, and assumed an expression similar to the older man’s.  “Lee, Tenten, Neji: this is a perfect opportunity for you to test your skills.  I expect you to train hard with your temporary teammates for the next few days!”

“Yes, Gai-sensei,” they all chimed with varying amounts of enthusiasm.  Lee seemed ecstatic, Neji was his polar opposite, and Tenten appeared to be somewhere in between.

“Great.  You three have any questions?” Kakashi asked his team.  They shook their heads.  “Alright then, play nice.  Gai, try not to kill any of them, or worse.”  He waved at that and vanished in a plume of white smoke, leaving his genin to blink at his final words.  Worse?

“Wearing one of those might be worse than dying,” Sasuke said under his breath, causing Naruto to stifle a laugh.  Hinata turned red – and a little green – at the thought of having to wear one of the audacious jumpsuits.

“Are you really an Uchiha?” Lee asked at once, eyes intent on the dark-haired boy.  Sasuke nodded, but his expression didn’t change.  The boy’s eyes lit up and he turned immediately to Gai.  “Sensei, I want to spar the Uchiha first!”  Sasuke blinked, and tilted his head, but still said nothing.

“Ah Lee, I see that the fires of youth inspire you to test your strength.  What do you say, Sasuke-kun?”  Sasuke shrugged and stepped forward, rolling his shoulders slowly before speaking.

“I don’t see why not; we are supposed to be training with you.”  He stopped a few meters from Lee and blinked once.  As his eyes opened  they were already changed, the red irises of the Sharingan already studying his opponent.  Lee took in a breath and faced Sasuke, seemingly undaunted by the intimidating stare.  Naruto and Hinata glanced at one another and nodded at the same time, circling around the pair.  They leapt up and settled on the boulder a fair distance from where Sasuke and Lee would clash, and after a moment Tenten, Neji, and Gai followed.  The other girl jumped up to join them, smiling before turning her attention back to the match.  Neji and Gai remained standing.

“I’ve heard a lot about the Sharingan,” Lee said calmly, dropping into a strange taijutsu stance.  Seeing that they would begin with hand-to-hand combat, Sasuke stepped into his own form.  “Since I heard of you I have wanted to test my strength against those eyes of yours.”

“Do you want to talk, or fight?” Sasuke asked bluntly, features still set in boredom.  “You won’t be fighting my eyes, Lee-san; you’ll be fighting me.”  That got Lee to look at him curiously, but then grin and nod.

“You’re right, Sasuke-san.  Let’s begin.”  Lee took in another deep breath, set himself, and dashed forward at break-neck speed.  If not for his recent training with Haku, Sasuke wouldn’t have been able to react quickly enough to the onslaught of blows that came at him.  Lee wasn’t quite as fast as Hinata, but his blows were solid and designed to break bones instead of damage tenketsu and internal organs.  Each and every block came with a price, and the boy was fast enough to keep Sasuke on his toes.  But he hadn’t been training hard for nothing.

Lee seemed baffled – as did his teammates – when Sasuke struck the first blow of the match.  It had come after the older genin had seemed to vanish, reappearing in the midst of a whirling kick that had forced Sasuke to duck.  Lee had transitioned the move perfectly, landing and pivoting on his hands to thrust another hard kick directly at his opponent’s jaw.  If Sasuke hadn’t trained using Haku’s jutsu, the blow would have landed.  There was no time to dodge the kick; Lee’s series of movements had been executed flawlessly.  However, the boy’s balance would be precarious, and Sasuke’s eyes picked up the subtle strains in Lee’s muscles as the blow came.  He leaned back at the same time his left palm flew forward, striking Lee’s shin with a sharp jab that threw off the kick’s momentum and sent it out instead of up.  In the fraction of a second that the taijutsu specialist was thrown off balance, Sasuke twisted and slammed his heel into the side of Lee’s skull in a powerful spinning hook kick.

As Lee toppled sideways and rolled along the ground, Tenten gasped and looked bewilderingly towards Sasuke.  Neji’s eyes widened slightly, and his lips quirked up in a small smirk.  Gai was shaking his head, but Naruto was beaming.  Even Hinata allowed herself a tiny, proud smile for her friend.

“I’ve only ever seen Neji or Gai avoid that combination,” Tenten breathed, staring at the boy that had just knocked her teammate down.  “That’s . . . Impressive.”

“That’s an Uchiha,” Neji corrected smugly, “And from the looks of it he’s a genius of his clan.  It’s not surprising that Lee got hit first.”

“Neji is right,” Gai said, speaking loud enough so that Lee could hear as well.  “Lee underestimated him.”  He watched Sasuke for a moment as the boy resettled into his stance.  _You taught him well, Kakashi._

Lee tumbled to a crouch, clutching at the side of his head and wincing.  He looked as shocked as the rest, mouth hanging agape for a few long seconds before he finally bowed his head to Sasuke.  “Gai-sensei is right.  I thought that you might be more arrogant and neglect your physical training due to your kekkei genkai.  I see now that you have worked hard to make sure your body can keep up with your Sharingan’s sight.”  Lee rose to his feet slowly, and Sasuke nodded towards him in response to his show of respect.  “I will come at you seriously now, Sasuke-san.”

The match lasted two or three minutes longer, and every second was filled with blurred motion and powerful strikes.  Once Lee had regained his focus, Sasuke was hard pressed to land another blow.  The boy wasn’t just good at taijutsu; he was an expert.  Every strike was precise and powerful, every block was executed perfectly, and all at a speed that Sasuke could hardly keep up with.  By the time they disengaged, both breathing hard, Lee had scored several more hits than his adversary and gained the upper hand.

“Excellent!” Gai boomed, beaming at the two exhausted genin.  “That was a glorious match, filled with the power of youth.  Lee!”  The green-clad genin straightened and saluted his teacher, slowly regaining his breath.  “You must train harder if a genin a year your junior can nearly beat your taijutsu.”

“Yes sensei!” Lee cried, sounding just as into it as Gai.  “I will do one thousand push-ups and walk fifty laps around the training ground on my hands!”  Without further ado he dropped to the ground on the spot and began counting out his exercises.  Naruto and Hinata glanced at one another, clearly perplexed, before Tenten explained.

“This is normal, don’t worry,” she sighed, kneading her temples.  “Everything has to be over the top or it isn’t normal.”  Naruto laughed at that, and Hinata choked at a giggle before falling silent.  He glanced at her, wondering what was causing the sudden increase in tension.  Her eyes flicked to Neji and back down again, and then he understood.

“My turn!” Naruto said happily, kicking off of his perch and landing in a swirl of his black coat.  “Neji, want to spar?  It’d be a great training opportunity for me.”  _That is, if he’s at least as strong as Hinata is._ From what he had seen as they had approached, it wouldn’t be difficult to believe.

“You won’t have a chance,” Neji said flatly, not even looking at him.  “I’ll spar the Uchiha when he’s recovered; he’s the only one worth testing myself against.”  Naruto blinked, then glanced back towards Hinata before regarding the proud boy again.

“Hey, I’m Sasuke’s teammate, and we all train together.  How do you know I won’t give you a challenge?”

“You were an average student at the academy, and you’re well known for being a delinquent.  In what world do you think you’d have a chance against me, especially without a bloodline ability of your own?”  Naruto clenched his jaw, and Hinata winced.  Naruto’s days of being a prankster had yet to be forgotten, it seemed, and Neji had said the one thing that she knew would set her friend off.

“So what if I don’t have one?” Naruto snapped.  “I bet I can beat you down without it.”

“Naruto-kun,” Hinata began tentatively, not wanting the situation to escalate.  Not to mention, she knew more about Neji than he did.  “He’s–”

“You should listen to my pathetic cousin, Uzumaki.  I bet she doesn’t want you to get hurt fighting me,” Neji sneered.  It was Hinata’s turn to set her jaw and stare down at him.  The fact that he had called her pathetic was completely lost; all she had focused on was that he had insulted Naruto’s strength.

“Naruto-kun is not weak,” she said quietly, though her voice was hard.  Naruto blinked up at her, then grinned and rubbed at the back of his head.  Tenten looked between them for a moment, smiled knowingly, and winked at Hinata.  She blushed immediately and looked back down, though her expression lost none of its resolve.

“Neji,” Gai chided, clicking his tongue at the boy.  “Do not be rude to our guests.  If Naruto wishes to spar, you will fight him.”  Neji cast a glance at his sensei, rolled his eyes, then nodded.  He strode casually to the clearing as Sasuke made his way back to lean against the rock, flexing his fingers and rubbing at his forearms.

“That guy throws punches like battering rams,” Sasuke muttered, wincing as he felt his wrists.  Hinata slipped down and placed a hand on his arm to begin healing him.  He gave her a small appreciative smile before turning to Naruto.  “Kick his ass.”  His eyes were back to normal now, but they were hard and angry.  He had apparently overheard their conversation.

“You bet,” Naruto replied coolly, giving them a thumbs-up before moving to face Neji.  _Hey fox, it’s time to start teaching.  Give me as little of your chakra as you can.  I mean it; the very smallest amount you can squeeze through the cracks._

 ** _You sure about that, kid?_ ** the Kyuubi rumbled, voice filled with its usual mockery.  **_I’ve never had to purposefully siphon my chakra for you to use; I don’t know what will happen.  You could lose it the first time._**   He considered his own words for a moment before continuing; he seemed to be grinning somewhere inside of Naruto.  **_Of course, that would be fun too._**

 _Just shut up and do it,_ Naruto growled, forming the ram seal and crouching into a ready stance.  Neji raised an eyebrow and didn’t move.  _I’ll channel, you start trickling._   A massive contemptuous snort was all that he got before he felt . . . Something.

It wasn’t a particularly overwhelming feeling like it had been before, but he could feel the chakra pouring into him.  Apparently the smallest amount that the Kyuubi could leak through amounted to over double Naruto’s innate and already massive chakra stores.  On the outside nothing seemed to change at first, leading Neji to continue staring, unimpressed.  That is, until Naruto opened his eyes again.

“I didn’t think there was a bloodline that only turned your eyes purple,” Neji mocked.  His laugh was cut short as a tidal wave of alien murderous intent hit him, and he froze, staring at Naruto.

Hinata and Sasuke had both taken in a breath when they had seen the color of Naruto’s eyes.  But now they just watched grimly as orange chakra erupted around their friend, consuming and covering his body completely.  His previously indigo irises abruptly reddened, and his pupils elongated to slits.  It wasn’t the same violent burst of energy that it had been on the bridge; it was more similar to the first time when Naruto had nearly killed Mizuki.  The shroud of orange chakra stayed, however, swirling about him until it settled into a cloak with one long tail of energy twitching back and forth behind him.

Gai tensed and crouched immediately, but Sasuke held out a hand to him as if to block his path.  The jounin blinked down at him, alarmed, but he shook his head.  “Don’t worry,” he assured the eccentric man, keeping his eyes on Naruto.  “He has it under control.”  Of course, none of them – not even Naruto – knew that to be true, but they had faith in him.  After a few quick glances between Naruto and Sasuke, Gai relaxed and leaned back again.  His features were hard now, though, eyes narrowed and worried.  Tenten and Lee merely looked confused, and the latter had even stopped mid push-up.

Naruto fell to one knee, one eye closed as he grimaced.  _Too much,_ he barely got out, grinding his teeth as the chakra threatened to overwhelm him.  _Less._

 ** _You think this is easy?_** the Kyuubi nearly roared at him.  **_It’s not my fault that your weak flesh can’t handle the smallest fraction of my power._**   Despite the tone, Naruto felt the chakra slowly ebb away until his head stopped throbbing.  The haze that had settled over his vision slowly began to clear, and he was able to stand again.  **_If you can’t handle this, you’re not even worth the time to teach._**

 _Some teacher you are; is this just the sink or swim method?_   The fox simply growled at him.  Naruto looked down at his hands, then the rest of himself.  He was coated now in a razor-thin layer of orange chakra that seemed like just another layer of skin, though it covered his clothing as well.  Every now and again a portion stirred and bubbled like boiling water before settling back with the rest.  Naruto’s eyes, unbeknownst to him at least, had returned to their original bright blue.

“What are you?” Neji asked tightly.  Naruto looked up and grinned at him, noting that the boy’s Byakugan was already active.

“Sorry about that.  We can start now,” he replied, ignoring the question.  Sasuke smirked and made an approving sound, while Hinata simply let out a relieved breath.  Gai kept staring hard, though he no longer looked as worried.  “Ready?”  His opponent nodded slowly, sinking into a jyuken stance.  _Just like Hinata, so far._

Neji was ready, though apparently Naruto was not.  He was gone in an orange flash of movement, ending up overextended inside of Neji’s guard.  The Hyuuga’s eyes went wide, but he leapt back nimbly before the other genin could recover from his blunder.  _He’s not used to moving that fast._   But that didn’t stop Naruto from practicing; it would only be a matter of time before he got used to it.

The beginning of their duel consisted of many touch-and-go encounters.  At every clash Naruto primarily dodged Neji’s attacks, well aware of the damage they would cause if allowed to land.  Meanwhile, Neji was getting a feel for his adversary’s speed and power.  It was impressive – even he could admit that – but it wouldn’t be enough to beat him.  As soon as he realized that, Neji went on the offensive, and the tone of the fight changed immediately.

Naruto knew that Hinata was fast, and Sasuke’s training was allowing him to catch up to her speed as well.  But if they were quick, Neji was lightning.  Like Hinata his strikes carried less power than Naruto’s, but the chakra pulsing from his palms was viciously strong.  Every time one of Neji’s hands came into even light contact with Naruto a spike of pain shot through him; it felt like being stabbed with senbon.  It was like getting struck by Hinata but with twice the ferocity.

They disengaged and Naruto stumbled back, breathing a little hard.  Neji was strained noticeably more, but he had also been landing the vast majority of the blows.  _Try a little bit more; I can’t keep up with him yet._

 ** _Kid, I know your limits better than you do.  If I give you any more you’ll be on a rampage in no time.  I agreed to teach, so let me decide what you can handle._**  Naruto couldn’t argue with that, but it didn’t stop him from getting frustrated.  This guy had insulted Hinata, and every fiber of Naruto’s being wanted to make him pay for it.  The Kyuubi sighed; he could tell what was going on without being told.  **_Only a sliver more, but if you start losing it I’m cutting it off completely._**

 _Thanks._ He braced himself for the incoming chakra surge, but it didn’t come as expected.  Power lurched its way into him sluggishly, and the orange layer began to expand outward.  After a moment it settled, creating a visible film of writhing chakra a centimeter or two from his skin.  There were spots on his arms and chest that the energy skipped over completely, however.

 ** _He hit quite a few of your tenketsu.  You could force my chakra through, but you also might lose control of it that way._**   **_This is foolish, even for you, mortal._**   Naruto gave Neji a tight grin, showing off a pair of elongated canines.  His eye color was back to wavering between blue and red, but settled eventually on pale cerulean with only a hint of crimson near the edges.

 _Better end it quick, then._   As if on cue Neji dashed forward with the same idea in mind.  Just before he reached Naruto he spun, going down into a deep crouch and spreading his arms wide.  Naruto recognized the form immediately.

“Eight Divination Signs: Sixty-Four Palms!” Hinata was on her feet the moment she had seen Neji drop into his stance, and she now stood clutching the hem of her coat so tightly her knuckles turned white.  Sasuke glanced over, shook his head, and nudged her shoulder.  She caught his look, visibly calmed herself and nodded, sinking back down silently to watch as Neji’s movements began to blur.

Naruto was easily able to counter the first few sets of blows, but as the series progressed he struggled to keep up even with the additional energy provided by the Kyuubi.  “Thirty-two strikes,” Neji continued, arms becoming blurs as they lashed out to strike at Naruto’s tenketsu.  Naruto was only able to block or dodge ten, and again he felt himself stagger back.  “Sixty-four strikes!” The last statement came out as a grunt, but the attacks came regardless of the obvious strain Neji was under.  Naruto didn’t even have a chance to avoid them.  He crossed his arms in a desperate defense and was all but thrown back in a barrage of blows; they were so fast that it felt like they had all landed at the same time.

Naruto collapsed onto his knees, arms falling to his sides like leaden weights.  Every part of him was in agony.  Neji straightened slowly, managing a disdainful look through his labored breathing.  “I’ve closed your tenketsu; the match is over.”  He turned to walk back to the boulder, but froze halfway there as another blast of strange chakra washed over the clearing.  He turned slowly back to Naruto, mouth slightly agape and eyes widening in fury and disbelief.

The blond boy was standing again, and though breathing hard there was a fierce grin on his face.  His eyes were red now, but for the moment he still seemed to be himself.  “Not yet, Neji-san.  I still haven’t paid you back for what you said to Hinata.”  The aura of the Kyuubi’s chakra twisted and pulsed, and the beginnings of a tail began to form behind him.  _Five seconds,_ he said tightly, watching as his vision began to blur.  _Cut it all off in five seconds._   Even as Neji dropped into a ready stance Naruto burst forward at full speed, gathering as much chakra as he could in his right hand.  Unfortunately for the older boy, that much power wasn’t meant to be blocked.

Neji flew backwards as the blow connected with his jaw, moving fast enough to cause whiplash for anybody who might try to follow his movement.  Luckily Gai had seen it coming, appearing behind his student to catch him before he struck a tree or the big rock.  Neji seemed dazed but functional, and after a moment he was back on his feet, rubbing at his jaw and glaring at Naruto.  He got one last cheeky smile from the blond, and then the orange chakra faded.  After a stumbling step, Naruto began to fall forward, his face contorted in obvious pain.  Hinata and Sasuke were at his side before he hit the ground, catching him under each shoulder to support his weight with their own.  Despite his condition, he was still smiling weakly.

“I think you proved your point,” Sasuke muttered as they made their way back to their seats, shaking his head.  “That was pretty incredible, but it looks like it takes a toll on you.”

“Yeah,” Naruto wheezed, still short of breath and aching all over, “Kinda sucks; wasn’t ready for it.”  Hinata was silent, her cheeks burning a brilliant pink, although she looked more worried than embarrassed at what he had said on her behalf.  “I still lost, though.  He’s tough.”

“You should be proud that you did so well, Naruto-kun,” Lee stated gravely as he approached.  “Neji is my rival, and he is very strong.  I’ve heard that even among the main branch of the Hyuuga he is considered a genius.”  Naruto smiled a little wider at the encouragement.  It wasn’t that he hadn’t been satisfied with how he had done; he was just so exhausted and hurt everywhere.  Lee seemed to understand, and he returned the small grin with a bright one of his own.

“What was that chakra?” Neji demanded as he and Gai approached.  He was looking a bit worse for wear, but unlike Naruto he could still stand on his own power.  “You shouldn’t be able to use any with your tenketsu closed; you should hardly be able to move.”

“Secret,” Naruto shrugged.  It was mostly true, at least.  When Neji looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel over the curt response, Naruto sighed and waved a hand feebly.  “I’ve trained with Hinata-chan for over five years.  I found my own way around it.”  That wasn’t quite a lie, but it made a lot more sense than anything he could explain to the irate boy.  Neji’s eyes narrowed, and with one glance and a snort at Hinata, he stalked off into the woods.  Gai watched after him for a time before turning to Naruto, the serious expression he wore seeming somehow misplaced on his features.

“He can be very proud,” the jounin explained, watching Naruto intently.  “And he hasn’t encountered anything like that before.  You probably rattled him.”

“Serves him right,” Naruto muttered as his friends helped him sit down at the base of the boulder.  “He shouldn’t have said what he did about Hinata.”  He wasn’t able to see her turning bright red as his eyes closed, but he heard her speak hesitantly after.

“It’s okay, Naruto-kun.  The Main and Branch houses don’t always . . . completely get along.”  She finished the statement a bit lamely, as if the words she had chosen didn’t convey how she felt about the topic.

“Why not?” he asked curiously.  The strength in his voice was already beginning to return.

“It’s . . .” Hinata hesitated before shaking her head.  “It’s complicated.”  He opened his eyes at that, and she gave him a look that told him it was something to discuss later.  He nodded and shrugged, then grinned at her.

“Well, I guess it’s your turn then.” Naruto said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster in his state.  She blinked at him and paled a little, looking to Tenten and Gai nervously.  Naruto lifted his arm painfully to nudge her leg with his elbow, winking when she looked back down at him.  “You’ll do great; I know you will.”  Her color returned and she gave him a small nod with an accompanying tiny smile.

“Of course she will!” Gai thundered, seeming to have found his spirit again.  “Now you two, show us your fires of youth!”  Tenten rolled her eyes, smiled encouragingly at Hinata, and jumped from her perch.  “And Tenten: no lethal weapons until tomorrow.”

“They’re all lethal,” she said incredulously.  Gai eyed her sternly and she pouted at him.  “Fine, just the blunt ones then.”  The girl stomped into the clearing, muttering under her breath about not being understood.

Hinata paced after her adversary, squaring off opposite the girl before settling into her modified jyuken stance.  Tenten cocked her head sideways and scrunched up her eyes at Hinata.  “That’s a weird jyuken stance.  I’ve never seen Neji do one of those.”  Hinata smiled faintly at her but quickly smoothed over her expression in preparation for the match.  Tenten shrugged and reached behind her belt, pulling out two scrolls and flicking them open deftly.  A moment later, after a pair of smoke clouds billowed up from the parchments, she was twirling two pairs of nunchaku at her sides.

It turned out that Tenten was very used to fighting a close-quarters specialist.  She utilized her superior reach at every given opportunity, dancing nimbly around to keep Hinata at a distance.  After a minute of using the first pair of weapons she transitioned smoothly into others, alternating every minute or so in order to keep her opponent on her toes.  After the nunchaku came the metal tonfas she had used against Neji, followed by a quarterstaff, and finally by a pair of what looked like maces with heavy, round metal heads.

Hinata held her own against the older girl, using speed to her advantage.  Taking a hit from any of the weapons would hurt, not to mention the possibility that they could break bones.  She had the most difficult time with the nunchaku and steel maces, but was able to put Tenten on the defensive with the other weapons.  The girl seemed genuinely surprised at that, and even took a few hits as a result.

After five minutes of constant back and forth they both were breathing laboriously.  Hinata had succeeded in dodging the majority of Tenten’s blows, but the few that had gotten through had done enough.  She held her weight largely on one leg, as if the other had been badly bruised or even broken.  One arm was shaking violently as it strained to stay up and ready; it had likely suffered minor nerve damage.

Tenten was in no better condition, surprisingly.  The maces were on the ground beside her, and she was down on one knee and wincing in pain.  “You,” she panted, sounding impressed, “You’re almost as fast as Neji, but your style is so different.  I thought I’d be dealing with straight jyuken.  What was that?”

“Jyuken,” Hinata responded, equally breathless.  “But many of the movements are modified and crossed with goken techniques.”

“I noticed you included a lot, _lot_ more kicks than Neji ever does.  _And_ you channeled chakra into them?”  She seemed to be in moderate disbelief when Hinata smiled demurely and nodded.  Tenten whistled softly and stood up stiffly.  “Well, color me impressed.  It’s always great to meet another strong kunoichi.  Want to call it a draw?  I think you landed more hits, but I’d say mine did a fair bit more damage.”  She winked and Hinata nodded again gratefully, turning to walk back to where the rest were gathered.  Tenten moved to her quickly and helped, taking up the weight on her injured leg’s side.  Hinata flushed but thanked her, casting a glance at Naruto who had been struggling to get up and help her himself.  He grinned and settled back down, appearing to have recovered quite a bit during the bout of sparring.

“Yosh!” Gai exclaimed, extending his arm in an exaggerated thumbs-up as he gave the girls what they were beginning to assume to be a signature smile.  Just like Lee, a ray of light must have hit his shiny white teeth at just the right angle, creating a sparkle that flashed for an instant near the corner of his mouth.  “I’ll give you three a few minutes to recover.  Lee, Tenten, Neji; we’re going to run a lap around Konoha using only one leg!”  Without waiting for them to respond he bounded off towards the nearest section of the outer wall, Lee following immediately after.  Tenten gave the other three genin a helpless look and trotted after her teacher, clearly unenthused.  After a moment there was a rustling nearby, then silence; Neji appeared to have been near enough to follow his sensei’s order.

“Are you alright?” Naruto asked Hinata as they left, turning concerned eyes to his friend.  “Those weapons looked like they hurt.”

“I’m okay; it’s only a few fractures and a lot of bruises.”  She winced and shifted to lay her uninjured hand on the opposite wrist to begin healing it.  Naruto didn’t seem convinced, but he didn’t get press it.  He knew Hinata was strong, and it would only be insulting to treat her like she wasn’t.  Instead he smiled at her.

“I never really thought about your style being so different from regular jyuken.  I guess it helps when the person you’re fighting expects something else, huh?”  He shook his head, keeping the grin.  “But you did better than me and Sasuke; you tired her out before she even knocked you down once.”  A bit of pink invaded her features before she shook her head back at him.

“She wasn’t able to go all out on me; remember what Gai-sensei said?  She would have used a lot of ranged weapons if he hadn’t told her not to use anything sharp.”

“You would have handled that just fine,” Sasuke said evenly, leaning back against the rock and closing his eyes.  “We all know how you handle projectiles.”  Hinata blushed a little more and continued her healing.  After finishing she stretched a little before turning her attention to Naruto, mending his injuries as best she could.

“So,” he continued while she was working on Naruto’s tenketsu, “What happened with the Kyuubi’s chakra?  You looked like you were losing control or something for a second there, and I don’t think all that damage is from Neji alone.”

“No, but most of it is,” Naruto laughed.  He explained what had happened briefly, and shrugged near the end of the description.  “I think I can almost handle it with that tail thing sticking out.  But I almost blacked out when he just started me there; I think I need to slowly ramp it up until I can tolerate the power.  It just feels so . . . Weird, I guess.  I don’t know how to describe the feeling when the chakra wraps around me.  At first it feels kind of gross, like it’s dirty or something.  But after a while it stops and just feels heavy.”

“That makes sense in a way, I guess,” Sasuke started slowly, looking pensive.  “I mean, the Kyuubi is a demon, and from what you said it’s always kind of grumpy – no offense, Kyuubi.”  Naruto had informed them that the fox could see and hear everything he did, and every once and a while they also acknowledged the presence.  “Maybe its chakra has taken on its anger or hatred or something.  Chakra is supposed to be a unique signature; maybe since it’s been alive so long the Kyuubi’s chakra just took on some of its prominent traits.”  After a moment’s thought Naruto slowly nodded.

“But why are you so hurt?” Hinata asked gently, running her hands down one of his arms.  It wasn’t that she held no interest for the theories, but her concern was in Naruto’s health.

“Most of it _was_ Neji,” he repeated, but he looked down at his hands after a few seconds and considered it.  _Why am I so beat?  Even after serving as Hinata’s practice target I don’t get this tired._

 ** _I warned you that it’s dangerous,_** the Kyuubi growled.  He seemed a little angrier than usual.  **_I didn’t give you that last burst of chakra; you took that, fool._** Naruto blinked, and he felt the demon roll its eyes.  **_If you get emotional enough, you subconsciously draw on it against my will.  And if you do it again, I’m through helping you.  My chakra will eat away at your pathetic body unless you get used to it first._**   Naruto blanched at that and nodded dully, drawing a worried look from his friends.  He told them what the fox had said.

“You’d better listen, then,” Sasuke sighed.  “I understand that you want to get stronger, and you’re not exactly the most patient person I know, but this is serious.  If you don’t take it slow, it could kill you.”  Hinata nodded vigorously in agreement, and Naruto raised both hands in a conciliatory gesture.

“I will, I will; I promise.”

After finishing the day with Team Gai they had returned home tired and sore.  Following the intense sparring matches they had performed a series of exercise drills including distance running, sit-ups, push-ups, and more directed taijutsu training.  Gai had them paired up and going through slow drills, correcting forms and demonstrating technique with Lee.  After that they did some work with weapons, led largely by Tenten and Gai together.  They had finished the day with yet more drills, sparring, and finally a ten mile ‘cool down’ jog.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Two more days of the grueling regimen passed, and by the end of the third day Naruto had gotten a feel for the Kyuubi’s chakra.  It no longer felt as foreign, for whatever reason, and while he was still unable to form the tail of his cloak he was capable of holding a thicker layer for a longer period of time.  Although he felt like the progress was slow, the fox was always there to berate him about how idiotic he would be to skip ahead.

Haku had come to observe the training for the first day, joining in on a few drills and speaking amiably to the members of Team Gai; he even tried to talk to Neji, who gave him the cold shoulder more often than not.  Haku’s forte was not in taijutsu, and as such was encouraged to participate more and more to improve himself.  Two days did little for him in that regard, but he appreciated the welcome more than anything else.

On the evening of the third day, a few hours after returning to his apartment, Sasuke sat in a reclined chair on the balcony.  He was watching the moon intently, expression far away and a mask of stoicism.  As he did most nights, Sasuke was thinking about his friends, his deceased family, and Itachi.  It wasn’t as if he was unhappy with his life at the moment, but there was that ever-present, terrible lonely feeling of having lost something precious.  In his case, the loss had been incalculable.  The lives of his mother, father, friends and neighbors had been lost, and all at the hand of his older brother.  It was a hurt that would never go away, and he knew it.  With that sadness came thoughts of bitter revenge, that one day he would seek out Itachi and take his vengeance for what had been done.

At some point in the midst of his brooding he noticed a presence nearby.  “You’re still awake?” he asked mildly, not looking away from the moon.  Haku stepped from the doorway and sank into the chair next to Sasuke’s, folding his hands in his lap.

“It’s hard for me to sleep sometimes,” Haku said calmly.  “I could ask you the same question.”

“Just thinking,” Sasuke sighed, running a hand back through his hair.  “Sorry if I kept you up.”  He stood and turned to walk back into the apartment, but stopped as he felt a hand touch his forearm.  He blinked down at Haku questioningly, and the other boy hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“I don’t mean to step out of place, as I am a guest in your home.  But you always seem so . . . sad, Sasuke-kun.  May I ask why that is?”  Sasuke regarded him for a long moment before shrugging and leaning back against the railing of the balcony, looking back into the darkness of the apartment.

“A few years ago my older brother killed my parents, as well as every other member of my clan.  I was the only one left alive,” he offered bluntly, not even a hint of emotion in his voice.  Haku’s eyes widened, his lips parting in silent empathetic horror.  “I’m not really sad all of the time; Naruto and Hinata have helped me through the years.  I owe them a lot, really, especially since they agreed to help me get revenge on Itachi.  It’s just a little hard to deal with sometimes, when I’m alone.  I’m actually kind of glad you moved in here, to tell you the truth.  It’s dumb, but I guess it’s just nice having somebody else around.  At the very least it keeps me from dwelling on the past so much.”

Haku had only a limited grasp on personal space and social etiquette, so perhaps Sasuke should not have been surprised when the older boy took his hand gently and squeezed it.  His eyes were sad, but oddly warm as he looked up at Sasuke.  “I’m sorry,” he said simply, pausing for a moment before continuing.  “Maybe one day I’ll be able to help you get your revenge.”  Sasuke looked down at him for a long time before shrugging, looking away uncomfortably and taking his hand back.

“Maybe, but it’s not good to dwell on.  I’m going to bed; I’ll see you in the morning.”  He pushed off the railing and stepped to the door, pausing there to look back and nod to Haku.  “Thanks.”  Then he vanished into the darkened apartment, leaving the other boy to peer after him with the ghost of a somber smile on his lips.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Hinata stirred from her sleep, blinking her eyes open slowly.  It was still dark outside, and from what she could see of the moon through the window it was only a little after midnight.  A muffled noise kept rising up periodically from somewhere outside of the bedroom door, and it was likely what had awoken her.  She slipped out of bed, padding over to and opening the door cautiously.  The sound – actually several sounds, it seemed now – was coming from the living room.  She could hear them more clearly now, like the low noises made by an angry wolf.  Hinata drew in a sharp breath and moved silently from the doorway.  _Naruto-kun._

As soon as she rounded the corner to the living room she froze, staring wide-eyed at the couch where Naruto lay.  He was covered in a cold sweat that glistened in the glow of the orange chakra that surrounded him in a thin haze.  His expression was strained and  . . . Angry.  The noises Hinata had heard were occasional snarls and harsh growls coming from Naruto’s own mouth.  He was twisting and turning on the sofa, obviously troubled and restless in his slumber.

She went to him immediately, feet silent on the floor.  “Naruto-kun,” she whispered worriedly, placing a hand on his bare shoulder and trying not to think about the physical contact.  He groaned and tried to swat at her hand in his sleep, but she held firm and shook him.  “Naruto-kun.” Hinata’s voice came with more urgency now, and she shook him again harder still.

Bleary, sanguine eyes opened slowly beneath her, and she took in another breath at the sight of his pupils.  Naruto’s eyes went wide with panic and he sat up abruptly, nearly throwing Hinata back with the movement.  He looked around wildly, breathing too quickly.  Naruto was in a panic.

“Hey,” she said as gently as she could, keeping her voice hushed.  “Calm down, Naruto-kun.  You’re okay.”  His head whipped around and he stared at her for a long moment, and after a time his breathing began to slow.  Normally Hinata might get flustered at the extremely close proximity of Naruto’s face to her own, but at the moment she was taken in by his eyes.  She had seen them change from afar, and even seen them red up close in Wave Country.  But this was the first time she saw them change back up close.  The crimson irises slowly gained blue, transitioning from malevolence into a rich purple calm.  Halfway through the spectrum to a lighter indigo his pupils started retracting, rounding out to dilated spheres as the surrounding color settled on a familiar bright blue.

“Hinata-chan?” he whispered, now looking confused and frightened.  “Did I wake you up?  I was having . . . I was having a nightmare, I think.”  She shook her head and touched his arm; he was trembling.

“It’s alright.  I came out and saw you covered in the Kyuubi’s chakra, and when you sat up your eyes were red . . .” She trailed off and looked away from him, thankful to the darkness for hiding her rising blush.  Naruto blinked at her and sighed unsteadily, leaning slowly back down to lay on his back.  He grabbed a shirt from beside the couch and began wiping the moisture from his skin as he spoke.

“I think . . . I think I was dreaming about the Kyuubi, or something.  But it was like I _was_ the Kyuubi, somehow.  It was so vivid and felt so real.  It even seemed . . . familiar.  I know it doesn’t make sense, but that’s just how it felt.”  He was still shaking as he dropped the shirt back to the floor, closing his eyes again for a while before grinning sheepishly up at Hinata, who was still perched beside him on the edge of the sofa.  “Thanks for waking me up.  That was . . . Scary.”

“O-of course,” Hinata responded quietly, still looking down.  Her index fingers were pressed together in her old nervous habit.  “I’ll let you get back to sleep,” she mumbled, moving to rise quickly.  She was stopped, however, by Naruto’s hand placed atop her own.  She blinked and looked back to him.  The boy wasn’t looking at her, and something told her that he was just as glad for the flush-concealing darkness as she was at the moment.

“Can you – I mean,” he started awkwardly, not sure how to get the words out.  “Do you think you could stay, just for a while?”  Naruto couldn’t quite get anything else out.  He wanted to tell her how frightening the dreams had been, and how simply by being there she made him feel calmer.  But none of that made it to his mouth, so he just stayed there, feeling more dumb by the second for even asking.

Hinata chewed at her lower lip and turned an undocumented shade of red at his request.  But the feeling was only a natural response; she could see and feel how scared and vulnerable he felt.  Using the Kyuubi’s chakra was taking a toll on him mentally as well.  As a response she sank down next to him slowly, pulling a discarded blanket up and over them both.  She was all too aware of him as she positioned herself carefully to face away and out into the room, trying to be considerate of his personal space while respecting his request to have her nearby.  There was a part of her – a fairly large part, she admitted to herself – that wanted Naruto to put his arm around her.  But it was a selfish thought, she told herself; she was there to comfort him right now.

Naruto lay completely still for a long moment, not even daring to breathe until he had to.  When he had asked her to stay he hadn’t meant quite like that, but before he could think to tell her as much he couldn’t help but notice how warm she was.  He couldn’t think of a way to describe it, save to say that it was incredibly nice feeling.  As she turned away he mirrored her position, thinking it the most respectful way to go, turning to face the back of the couch so that they were back-to-back.

He smiled a tired, bashful smile as sleep threatened to take him again a few minutes later.  His hand lifted slightly to move back, and he found her own resting close by.  With hardly a thought their fingers twined together, finding a comfortable position to rest in as Naruto whispered behind Hinata.  “Thanks.”

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

The next morning, as Sasuke, Hinata, Naruto, and Haku were eating breakfast at Ichiraku, Kakashi returned to Konoha.  He appeared on the stool next to Sasuke, sitting as if he had been there the whole time.

“Yo,” he greeted them casually.  “How was training with Team Gai?”  They gave him their accounts individually, noting high and low points as well as their progress.  Naruto, after a glance towards the counter and the kindly owner, noted his ‘special training’ was progressing well with some minor complications.  Kakashi raised an eyebrow at that, but was tactful enough not to ask about it until later.  “And what did you learn from them?”

“That I don’t want to have to see Gai and Lee crying and holding each other ever again,” Sasuke muttered.  Naruto snorted and choked a little on his ramen, and Hinata stifled a giggle.  “I know I learned how much of a difference one year can make.  They’re strong, don’t get me wrong, but I think given the same amount of time to train we’d be able to beat them consistently.  Fighting a weapons specialist was interesting, though.  I thought it was kind of silly at first, but I learned pretty fast that Tenten’s skill is nothing to scoff at.”

“Heh, she got so mad when you broke her quarterstaff yesterday, Hinata-chan” Naruto teased.  She ducked her head and looked guiltily embarrassed, though she couldn’t help but smile a little.  “I know I learned not to get a hundred and twenty-six tenketsu hit in one attack,” he continued wryly.  “And that Hinata’s cousin is a jerk.  But Tenten was really nice, and like Sasuke said it was really challenging sparring with her.  I think the most important thing I got was from Lee, though; he’s basically a taijutsu master, but he got there through hard work alone.  Even though he can’t use ninjutsu or genjutsu, he’s determined to be a great ninja.  I think that’s really cool.”

“I um,” Hinata started, fidgeting with her fingers under the counter.  “Sasuke and Naruto-kun covered most of it, I think.  But I did learn some better jyuken techniques from watching Neji-niisan.”  Naruto glowered at that, but couldn’t argue with her.  Like Sasuke had pointed out, the other genin had trained for an extra year after the academy.  He had to admit – begrudgingly, of course – that Neji could fight better than Hinata.  “And also that adding variety to our training might prove useful.”

Kakashi nodded once.  “Good.  Gai is eccentric, but he’s one of the strongest jounin in the village, and an old friend of mine.  I had been hoping that you might learn something from his team.”  He was quiet for a few seconds before continuing, tone casual and conversational.  “Well,” he said, raising a hand to Teuchi to place an order.  “When I reported in with the Hokage this morning I learned something pretty interesting.”  They all turned to him curiously, though as far as they could tell his expression remained neutral.  “Apparently the next chuunin exams are being held in Konoha, and they start in two weeks.  I was thinking about it while I was away, and you all are very well developed and talented for your age.”  Haku still seemed confused, but Sasuke raised both eyebrows in surprise.  Hinata blinked, then her eyes widened in realization.  Naruto considered Kakashi’s words for a few seconds before grinning broadly.  The jounin looked over at them finally, tilting his head and smirking under his mask.

“How would you three like to take the Chuunin Exam?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks. Sorry for the slightly longer-than-normal wait on this chapter. My work schedule changed recently, and on top of odd hours for writing I’m having to juggle coordination with Rhi (my beta, who was kind enough to edit this chapter for me).
> 
> I saw a comment or two on chapters being entirely in bold, and after a few experiments I discovered that chapters 2 and 3 are indeed bold, but only if viewed on a mobile platform. Rhi and I are working on fixing that (somehow), but in the meantime please accept my belated apology for the inconvenience.
> 
> Two additional notes: I removed the prologue in chapter 1, for several reasons. The most prominent is that I never actually liked it, truth be told; I think that I wrote it poorly and that it took away from the story itself. As stated in the new chapter 1 note, the events that it alluded to will still come to pass. I just felt that the story flowed better without it included. The second note is that I started editing a few words, namely those like “chuunin” where previously I only used one “u”; I now use two. It’s basically for consistency’s sake.
> 
> Thank you for all of the follows and favorites, and especially the reviews. I’ll say it time and time again: I’m only encouraged to write more every time I see them.
> 
> See you next time!


	10. The First Exam

The air stirred about restlessly, too sluggish to be considered a breeze but with enough force behind it to tousle Hinata’s hair.  She swept her bangs away from concerned eyes and focused her Byakugan on Naruto.  He was sitting just across from her at the center of the small clearing, with his legs crossed and his hands relaxed, facing palm-up on his knees.  His eyes were closed, and aside from a slightly furrowed brow he seemed calm.  A shroud of orange chakra surrounded him, though it seemed to roil less than it had previously.  A single long tail of the same energy swished back and forth behind him.  After a few minutes he finally blinked his eyes open and grimaced.  Hinata winced at the sight; Naruto’s pupils were cat-like slits, surrounded by the unnatural red that she now associated with the Kyuubi.

“Yeah, that’s it.  He said that’s pretty much all the chakra that can get out unless I really ‘lose it.’  I’m not sure what that means, exactly,” he admitted.  “What’s it look like?”

“It’s . . .” Hinata hesitated, squinting a little at his torso.  “It looks almost normal, Naruto-kun.  The Kyuubi’s chakra is a different color than yours like it always is, but it looks like it’s started to flow with your own instead of on its own path.”  She started to chew on her lip as she released the Byakugan, lifting her gaze to his own.  Naruto’s eyes were still florid, but his excited smile lessened their frightening effect some.

“Well it took almost two weeks, but I did it!”  He sighed happily and fell backwards into the grass, causing tiny wisps of chakra to break off and drift upward.  It was a mesmerizing display that had Hinata watching for a few seconds as several dozen tendrils of red-orange energy floated up and disappeared.

“Naruto-kun?” she started, looking off into the trees.  Naruto lifted his head to look at her curiously; he could always tell when she was distressed in some way.  “Ever since Kakashi told us about the chuunin exam you’ve been training like this.  I know the Kyuubi said that you need to expose yourself to its chakra as often and as long as possible to be able to control it, but . . . Don’t you think there might be some side effects?”

“Like what?” Naruto asked.  It was true that he had spent the majority of the previous two weeks nigh constantly coated in the demon fox’s chakra, but he hadn’t considered the idea before.

“Like . . . Like your eyes, or maybe something more important.”  Hinata still wouldn’t look at him.  She was sitting nearby, with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them.  “It’s been taking longer for your eyes to change back recently.  What if they get stuck like that?”

“Hinata-chan,” Naruto began gently.  They had discussed this once or twice already, and he knew it worried her.  “Even if my eyes do get stuck all weird and red like that, it’s still me right?”

“What if it stops being you?” she questioned quietly, real fear in her voice.  “What if . . . What if the Kyuubi is just trying to slowly take over?  It could all be a trick.”

 ** _Your girlfriend is smart, kid,_** the Kyuubi chuckled in his head.  **_You didn’t even consider something like that, did you?_**

 _Of course not,_ he snapped back, irritated.  _I told you I want to work as a team.  I’m not trying to control you like everybody keeps saying, either.  I want to believe that maybe you and I can just work together; don’t you think that’s the best chance we have to survive?_

 ** _Maybe, maybe not._** As usual, when it came to this topic the fox was as cryptic as ever.  Naruto was beginning to think it was fun for him.  **_But it’s not a bad idea for you to get used to my chakra.  Like you already discovered, when you get too emotional it just comes out regardless of what I want.  If you can at least handle the chakra that comes out, it’ll be less of a problem for you.  And then I don’t have to worry about you getting yourself killed._**

_Didn’t you also say that when I get really mad the seal cracks or something?_

**_No, fool.  I said more chakra can force its way through; there’s a difference._ **

“Naruto-kun?”  He blinked a few times, refocusing his vision on Hinata.  She was looking at him now, concern written all over her features.

“Sorry; I was asking the fox about it.  He said ah . . .” Naruto hesitated. “Well he didn’t really say, I guess.”  Her lips pursed and tears started to well up at the corners of her eyes.  “But hey, Hinata?” He was sitting up now, looking down at his hands with a sober expression.  She blinked several times to clear away the unshed tears; now wasn’t the time to cry.  Naruto never left the suffix off of her name unless he was speaking seriously.  “You know me.  Do you think I’d let a dumb fox demon get to me like that?”  Hinata hesitated only a moment before shaking her head.  Naruto smiled.  “If I ever change, I’m counting on you to smack some sense into me.  Promise?”  He was still smiling when he finally looked up to meet her eyes, and his own were back to bright blue despite the red chakra.

The air left Naruto’s lungs as Hinata collided with him a breath later.  As they hit the ground his concentration faltered, and the cloak of red chakra exploded outward.  It rushed up and around in a brief gust of wind, writhing and dissipating in a breathtaking display like a detonating firework.  When it cleared Naruto was back to normal, and he was returning Hinata’s embrace with equal fervor.

“I promise,” she mumbled into his chest.  After a moment she sighed and relaxed her hold on him, the color rising in her cheeks a testament to reality catching up to reaction.  “I’m sorry, Naruto-kun.  I’m just . . . I’m worried.”

“I know; I am too,” he admitted a little abashedly.  Hinata looked up; that wasn’t like the ever-confident Naruto she knew.  He sounded . . . Embarrassed, almost, and even vulnerable.  As soon as she had lifted her head, they blinked at one another a few times, both flushing deeply a moment later.  Hinata’s face was so close that Naruto could feel her breath on his lips, though she inhaled sharply a moment later.

They lay there for what felt like an hour, frozen and staring at one another.  Heat rose in Naruto’s chest unbidden, and he could feel a dozen butterflies trying to escape his stomach.  Hinata’s eyes were very big in such close proximity, and very pretty.  In fact, it struck him then just how pretty she was in general.  Her skin was smooth and fair, and her ebon tresses framed lovely, delicate features.  For some reason her lips drew his attention more than anything else; they were parted only slightly, as if she had been caught at the beginning of a gasp.

Hinata was mortified.  When she had practically tackled Naruto it had been on an impulse.  Now she was lying there, unable to move, staring at him like a fool and noticing far too many details.  The way he held her caused a brief moment of lightheadedness, even if he didn’t have much of a choice given their positions.  The three whisker-like scars on either side of his face seemed to stand out amid his blush; Hinata couldn’t help but find the accents appealing.  She found herself focusing on his lips, which were pulled into a very small, nervous smile.

“Er . . . Hi.”  The two of them snapped out of their daze, blinking rapidly at one another before lifting their gazes to the edge of the small glade.  Sasuke was standing there with one eyebrow raised, and the smirk he wore looked far too smug.  Haku stood just behind him, peering over his shoulder to see what was going on.  The older boy’s eyes widened slightly and he smiled, stifling a giggle.  “You did want us to meet you here, right?”

Strangely enough, Naruto and Hinata did not scramble apart immediately.  Instead she pushed herself back up slowly, almost daintily, until she was sitting back a short distance away.  Naruto, as red as he could possibly get, sat up and rubbed at the back of his head.  He wore a broad, embarrassed grin and seemed to be trying to speak.  Hinata was already pushing her index fingers together and staring at the ground; Sasuke was sure that he could see steam rising from her ears.

“Ah, yeah; morning Sasuke, and hey Haku,” Naruto started finally after finding his voice.  “By the way we were just talking.”  He said it a bit too quickly, even though it was technically true.  Sasuke merely held up his hands in a pacifying gesture, and Haku kept trying to hold back gleeful laughter.  “Whatever,” Naruto muttered, scratching at his neck again before continuing.  “Are you ready to register?”

“Of course,” Sasuke said coolly, leaning against a nearby tree.  “How’d your training go?”  Naruto shrugged, then grinned and winked at him.  Sasuke returned his smile.  “Glad to hear it.  Just remember what Kakashi said: try to avoid doing anything with that whenever possible.”

“I know, I know,” Naruto sighed, rising and stretching upward before offering a hand to Hinata.  He had to gently nudge her shoulder to get her attention from the ground, but after a moment she took his hand and stood carefully.  “Let’s go; I don’t want to be the last team to register!”  Sasuke rolled his eyes but turned to leave the enclosure.  Haku cast a glance back at them, included a wink for good measure, before hurrying after the other boy.  Naruto flushed again, but it didn’t stop him from keeping ahold of Hinata’s hand.  She hadn’t let go, either.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“I thought Kakashi-sensei said room 301,” Naruto said, sounding perplexed.  “Why are there so many people on the second floor?”  They were standing just outside the academy, and the two boys were squinting up at the building like they could see through it.  Hinata, on the other hand, had no trouble seeing through the walls to inform them of what was going on inside.

“There’s an illusion set up on the first two floors; it’s not a very complicated genjutsu, but it seems to have most of the genin fooled into thinking they’re on the third floor.”  Hinata released her Byakugan, looking back to the entrance nervously.  “You were right, Sasuke.  The exam starts before we even turn in our applications.”

“It only makes sense,” he shrugged, stepping forward with his friends.  “That way they can weed out the ones that shouldn’t be attempting the test in the first place.  Like Naruto here, who couldn’t even recognize the genjutsu.”  Sasuke punched Naruto’s arm playfully, eliciting a fake pout from the blond.

“Hey, it’s not my fault you two have fancy eyes and don’t even have to try!” he said defensively, though he couldn’t help but grin.  “I was never good with genjutsu anyway; I’m just lucky to have you both to watch my back, right?”  Sasuke rolled his eyes and Hinata giggled lightly.  “Oh whatever; let’s just get to the third floor and turn these in.  Jerks.”

The trio entered together, each immediately forming the tiger seal and whispering ‘Kai’ to dispel the effects of the genjutsu.  The walls around them seemed to bend and stretch momentarily before settling back.  A few of the signs above the classrooms whirled and changed back to their original numbers, and the indicator over the stairs detailing which floor they were on blurred from ‘2’ to ‘1’.

“I can’t believe anybody would fall for this,” Sasuke muttered, taking to the stairs with the other two.  “I should’ve convinced Haku to come instead of heading back home; he would have gotten a kick out of this.”

“I think it’s a good thing,” Naruto shrugged as they stepped on to the second floor.  “Kakashi-sensei said that these exams are dangerous; genin have died in them before.  I’d want to make sure that nobody enters the exam that shouldn’t be there, too.”  Hinata nodded in agreement, and Sasuke shrugged.  He could see the reasoning, but the illusion had been so weak he would be surprised if anybody fell for it.  He was forced to reconsider that, however, when they passed the hallway containing room 201.

Perhaps two dozen genin were gathered around the door confronting two young Konoha shinobi, who were apparently blocking the entrance to the faux destination.  Oddly enough, Team Gai was there too.  As Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata rounded the corner to take the next set of stairs without halting, the two guarding the door to the fake room looked at them sharply.

“Where’re you three going?” the genin wearing a bandana demanded, calling down the hall to them.  “You’re supposed to turn in your applications here, not that we’re going to let you.”  He smirked confidently at them, then blinked a few times as they ignored him and continued walking.

“I guess we’re not taking the exam then,” Sasuke said evenly.  Naruto flashed them a cheeky smile, and Hinata ducked her head in a polite bow before they passed into the next hallway.  “Why do you think Team Gai was there?” he asked as they reached the final staircase.  “Neji could have seen through that easily, and I doubt Tenten and Lee were fooled.”

“They might be trying to fool the other teams,” Hinata offered.  “They didn’t seem to be their normal selves, at least from what I could see in passing.”

“Probably,” Naruto agreed, glancing around as they ascended to the third floor.  “I think by now we know how good those three are.  There’s no way they’d really get fooled by this.  Ah, there’s the room!”  He pointed towards the end of the hall at the door marked ‘301’.  To their surprise, Kakashi was standing in front of it.

“Yo.  I see you didn’t get distracted downstairs; well done,” he said calmly.  “There wasn’t much of a point in deceiving you about entering the exam; I knew you’d all show up.”  They stopped in front of him and looked collectively curious.  “You can’t take the chuunin exam unless you’re on a team,” he explained, smirking at the comprehension rising on their faces.  “So if one of you had decided not to, none of you would have been able to.  Get it?”  Each of them nodded, though Hinata paled slightly.  “But I was sure you’d all come, like I said.

“Now, one last thing,” Kakashi continued, stepping to the side.  He turned to them, leaning against the wall, and offered his signature smile that they had come to recognize by only his one eye.  “Be safe, and do your best.”

“Yes, sensei!” they voiced together.  Their teacher nodded at the door, and after taking only a moment to glance at one another, they moved together as one.

Room 301 was surprisingly packed.  Almost every space at the long desks was occupied, and there were a few teams standing in the back of the room where they had entered.  Almost every eye turned to the trio as they entered, though most only glanced uninterestedly.  A select group, however, took notice and approached immediately.

“Sasuke, Hinata, Naruto; long time no see.” Shikamaru strode casually to them, looking as bored and nonchalant as ever.  “I’ve hardly even glimpsed you around town since we graduated.  What’ve you been up to?”

“Hey, Shikamaru,” Naruto greeted him, grinning.  “Kakashi-sensei’s been keeping us busy with missions and training nonstop.  I think we’ve had one day off in the last month.”

“That sounds . . . troublesome,” he returned, “Kind of like this exam.  Since you’re here, that makes three teams from our class that were recommended.  I think people are pretty upset that so many rookies got in.”

“Yeah well, we earned it,” Ino huffed, stalking up behind him.  She looked flatly at Naruto for a moment, stared daggers at Hinata, then cooed at Sasuke.  “Sasuke-kun, how come you never come to see me at my flower shop?  You’re so coy!”

“I have better things to do,” Sasuke responded flatly, meeting her amorous gaze with an even one of his own.  “I’d rather train.”  Ino visibly deflated at that, hanging her head and turning to trundle back to a corner.  Naruto felt a little guilty about his stifled snicker, though Hinata gave him a look that set his expression back to neutral.  Sasuke rolled his eyes when she gave him a similar glance.  “Sorry Ino; I meant that I’ve just been busy.”  The blonde girl was one to bounce back quickly, it seemed.  She was back next to Shikamaru in an instant.

“Oh I couldn’t be upset with you, Sasuke-kun.  So do you think you could drop in after the chuunin exams?  We could make it a date!”  She giggled and blushed at her own words.  Sasuke had a hard time keeping a straight face.

“I’ll uh . . . Think about it.”  Ino seemed happy enough with his noncommittal response, spinning off to gloat at Sakura.  Sasuke grimaced as soon as her back was turned, and Shikamaru grinned at him.

“Great, now she’ll never shut up.  Thanks, Sasuke,” he commented wryly.  Before he could continue, however, the doors opened again, and the room became unnaturally silent.  The hair on the back of Naruto’s neck stood up, and he turned sharply to regard the newcomers.

A boy of average height, and who was likely no older than Naruto, stood with his arms folded in the doorway.  He was flanked on one side by a taller, stocky boy wearing all black, including a hood with two protrusions that looked like pointed ears.  His face had a number of markings on it, painted or tattooed in a patterns of dark maroon.  A bulky bundle of bandages was slung over his shoulder, worn like an oblong backpack.  On his left was a blonde girl wearing a dismissive expression, and she was looking about the room with mild distaste.  A massive iron fan rested on her back, and she carried it with the confidence of one who knew how to use it.  She appeared to be wearing a kind of fishnet material under a light violet top, a garment that was somewhere between a tunic and a dress.

Naruto hardly noticed the two older genin, his attention focused almost entirely on the center figure.  The boy had hair the color of fresh blood, with a symbol above his left eye sharing a similar hue.  His eyes were green, but so pale that they were nearly white, and they were bordered by thick black lines that only brought them more attention.  He was a small boy, like someone who hadn’t put any effort at all into physical training.  The large gourd strapped to his back continued the theme for the team.  His expression was unnervingly blank, and his gaze was settled directly on Naruto.

 ** _He’s bad news, kid,_** the Kyuubi growled.  **_You can feel what he is too, can’t you?_**

 _I . . . I’m not sure exactly.  But I feel_ something.  _He’s . . . like me, isn’t he?_

 ** _Aye, that’s Shukaku’s chakra alright; I’d know that bloodlust anywhere.  So that’s where that mad raccoon dog has been all these years._** Naruto simply stared at the newcomer, fighting a rush of emotions that scaled from extreme relief to stark fear.  He could _feel_ the other boy somehow; he could sense his demon, waiting just beneath the surface.  But it was the ratio of presences that was the stunning thing about the red-head.  **_Yes, boy.  That one’s already submitted to the Ichibi._**

“Naruto-kun . . . ?” He tore his eyes away as Hinata spoke and touched his arm.  Naruto closed his eyes and shook his head, causing her to cast a worried look at the three shinobi.  They were from the Hidden Sand she knew, judging by their hitai-ate, but aside from being foreign ninja they didn’t strike her as particularly odd.  The younger boy at the center was exuding a reasonably powerful killing intent, however, and it was enough to send a chill down her spine.

“What’s wrong, Gaara?” the blonde girl asked carefully, glancing from Naruto to the boy in front of her.

“Are these kids bothering you?”  The other boy asked lazily, adjusting the weight on his back.  “I don’t have a problem thinning the ranks before we start; you know how I feel about short people.”

“Kankuro,” Gaara started in a deadly, quiet voice.  The other two froze and took a step back.  “We are guests in Konohagakure, and here solely for the chuunin exam.  Do not disgrace our village more than you already have today.”

“Y-yes, of course.  I’m sorry, Gaara.” Kankuro wiped a bead of cold sweat from his brow before nodding to Team Seven.  “Sorry.”  He didn’t sound sincere, but he did seem fearful.  Both of the obviously older genin were _scared_ of the younger boy.  And not just frightened, but terrified on a whole different level than normal fear.  And Naruto knew why.

“Temari, Kankuro; let’s go.  We don’t want to draw further attention to ourselves.”  As silent as a specter Gaara moved forward down the center aisle of the room, his gaze never wavering except to glance one last time at Naruto as he passed.  The buzz of conversation throughout the room started up again in a hurry, as if every genin was only interested in ignoring the three who had entered.

“They seem confident,” Shikamaru commented evenly, watching the retreating trio with his eyes narrowed slightly.  He shrugged a moment later and turned back to the corner that held the rest of their graduating class..  “Whatever; come catch up with the rest of us before the exam starts.  We’ve still got half an hour or so.”  Naruto nodded to him, but waited a moment with his friends before following.

“That red-head with the gourd on his back . . .” he started, speaking as quietly as he could.  He looked around before shaking his head.  “He’s like me.”  It took only a second for them to realize what he meant.  Hinata’s lips parted in a silent gasp, which she covered with one hand.  Sasuke’s eyes widened, and he had to force himself not to look again towards the boy.  “I’ll tell you about it later.  I think Kakashi-sensei should know, too.”  They nodded, sharing a grave expression before walking after Shikamaru.

When they reached their old academy friends, it was a scene of barely contained chaos.  Ino and Sakura were arguing about something, and the pink-haired kunoichi was breaking off every few words to bicker with Kiba about something else.  The Inuzuka boy had his small dog, Akamaru, perched on his head as usual, and was retorting Sakura’s periodic remarks with an equal amount of enthusiasm.  Choji stood crunching through a signature bag of chips next to an ever-stoic Shino.

“I got over him months ago,” Sakura was saying haughtily, with her arms folded and chin raised.  “Like I’d believe Sasuke would go on a date with you anyway.  And I swear Kiba,” she growled, rounding on the boy for a moment and jabbing a finger at his chest. “If you make one more joke about it I’ll put you through the floor!”  Oddly enough, Kiba backed off at that, swallowing and looking genuinely scared.  As Sakura turned she saw Sasuke and his team, and an embarrassed flush rose immediately to her face.  “I ah . . . I mean – Well, right?”

“I said I’d think about it,” Sasuke shrugged, not interested in getting involved.  “Hey Shino.”  He walked over to the tall, silent boy without a second look for the girls.  Shino had been one of the only other individuals in their grade that Sasuke had spoken with much since the Uchiha clan massacre.  Their conversations were often so quiet and brief that nobody knew what they even discussed, but Naruto and Hinata had always just been glad he had somebody else to talk to on occasion.

“Sakura’s as scary as always, huh?” Naruto murmured to Kiba with a grin, nudging the other boy in the ribs.  “How’ve things been with Team Eight?”

“Sakura has some freakish strength and a temper to use it often,” he said somberly, turning to Naruto and Hinata to shake his head.  “But things aren’t bad.  It was rough at the start; Kurenai-sensei rode us for weeks about our teamwork.  I think Shino could get along with anybody if he had to work with them, but ah . . . Sakura and I used to argue a lot more.  We did a C-rank mission two weeks ago though,” he continued, puffing out his chest a bit, “And . . . Well we handled it okay.  We got attacked by some thugs, though, and our client got hurt a little because of a . . . mishap.”

“Kiba and Sakura decided it prudent to have a debate in the midst of the assault,” Shino explained calmly, stepping over with Sasuke.  What little could be seen of his expression was blank, and his words were similarly matter-of-fact.  “The resulting miscommunications caused injury to the man we were assigned to protect.  Such an event has not occurred since.”

“Yeah,” Kiba sighed, scratching at the side of his head and looking embarrassed.  “Shino sat us down and made us talk it out.  It hasn’t been perfect since then – it’s _impossible_ to get along with her – but we can work together at least.  How about you three?  We all heard about that B-rank mission; what exactly happened?”

“Well, it didn’t start out like that.  It was just a C-rank escort mission to the Land of Waves.  But . . .” As Naruto gave a synopsis of the mission, the other genin gave him their attention.  Ino and Sakura even stopped quibbling to listen.  He didn’t dwell on any details, for several reasons.  Iruka had reminded him repeatedly over the years about boasting, and as much as he wanted to exaggerate and explain his own role, it also would have brought up questions he wouldn’t want to answer.  He did make sure to embellish on Hinata taking down one of the Demon Brothers – leaving out the details of her technique, of course.  Sasuke’s maneuver to break Zabuza’s hold on Kakashi was also described thoroughly.  When he got to explaining the bridge, however, Naruto only mentioned what happened to Haku and Zabuza in passing.  Sasuke and Hinata, however, didn’t let him get away with that so easily.

“Naruto finished off Haku and killed Zabuza,” Sasuke inserted smoothly.  “Hinata and I were both unconscious at the time.”

“He saved our lives,” Hinata agreed, smiling softly.  The other genin looked collectively stunned and impressed.

“You killed a jounin?” Kiba burst out, eyes wide.

“Kakashi-sensei had already beaten him down,” Naruto lied, shrugging.  “Anyway the important thing was we all survived, and we completed the mission.  It could have gone a lot worse.”

“Haku . . . Isn’t Haku the name of the boy that’s living at your apartment, Sasuke?” Sakura had posed the question, furrowing her brows a moment later.  “He’s not . . .”

“Same one,” Sasuke responded coolly.  She balked at that, blinking several times at him and unable to form a reply.  “He was being manipulated by Zabuza; he’s a nice guy, and a skilled shinobi.  _And_ he’s our friend now.”

“That mission sounds like it was troublesome,” Shikamaru sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets.  “It’s good that everything worked out, though.”

“You rookies should quiet down.”  A grey-haired genin, several years older than they, was walking towards them with a scolding expression.  “Have you taken a look around you yet?”  Despite the boy’s abrasive words, Naruto did turn to gaze towards the rest of the shinobi in the room.  Many of them were either shooting annoyed glances towards their group or simply glaring outright.  “Everybody here is tense,” he continued in a quieter tone, stopping close by and pushing a pair of round-lensed glasses up the bridge of his nose.  “I recommend keeping quiet so you don’t draw attention to yourselves.”

“Who are you to tell us that?” Ino demanded, looking obstinate.

“Yakushi Kabuto, and I have enough experience with this exam to know what I’m talking about.  This will be my seventh time taking it.”  Ino paled slightly, and the remaining genins’ reactions were largely similar.  Shikamaru tsked and looked annoyed, and despite how little they got along Sakura and Kiba had matching reactions of disbelief, complete with wide eyes and with mouths agape.  Choji’s face had gone ashen, and he was eating at twice his normal speed.  The only ones not to react much were Shino and Team Seven.  The Aburame appeared to be as impassive as ever, and Sasuke could have rivaled him for nonchalance.  Naruto shrugged, and Hinata simply clutched at the hem of her jacket.

“I guess that means the exam’s hard,” Naruto said after a moment, eyeing Kabuto dubiously.  “But it also means you have a lot of experience with it, right?”  The older genin smiled mischievously, but nodded.

“I’ve managed to collect quite a bit of data on the exam, and of those participating.  I suppose I’d be willing to share it with you all, since you’re probably the only rookies here.”  Without further ceremony he dropped to the ground, pulling out a stack of cards in the same motion.  He set them face down on the ground in front of him, flipping the top one over to reveal a blank white front.  “Here’s the general information; is there anything in specific you’d like to know?”  He pressed a finger to the card and it released a small puff of smoke, revealing an image of the countries surrounding the Land of Fire.  At the edge of the card was the number ‘153’, and atop six of the shown countries were green bars, apparently corresponding in height to the number of genin present from each village.  Konoha had the largest number present – likely due to the exam’s location – while the Sound Village had the smallest at only one team of three genin.

“That’s neat,” Naruto grinned, though his features smoothed over immediately as he thought of who he wanted information on.  “Do you have any information about Gaara, from Suna?”  Kabuto tilted his head to the side, but nodded and produced another card from the top of the pile.

“Gaara of the Sand,” he said, examining the profile.  “Skills unknown.  He’s completed eight C-rank missions and . . . one B-rank, it looks like; that’s impressive for a genin, but it’s not the strangest part.”  Naruto raised an eyebrow at him, and Kabuto adjusted his glasses again before speaking.  “He’s returned from every mission unharmed.”

“He came back from a B-rank mission – as a genin, no less – without getting hurt at all?” Sasuke asked, sounding both impressed and incredulous.

“It looks like it.  But don’t be so surprised; every nation sends their best genin to the chuunin exam.  It’s a show of power, in a way.  Though, they say it’s just a way to improve relations between nations, and to promote worthy genin of course.”  Team Gai entered the classroom during his explanation, making their way into the crowd to find a space in the rows.  Lee grinned at them and gave what was likely intended to be a furtive thumbs-up, though it turned out to be as obvious as his smile.  Neji ignored them completely, but Tenten offered a smirk and even winked at Sasuke.

“Looks like they made it just fine,” Naruto chuckled.  A few of the other Konoha genin looked curiously at the members of Team Gai, then at Naruto.  “We trained with them a little a few weeks ago.  They’re really strong.  Say,” he said, turning back to Kabuto.  “Do you have anything on Hyuuga Neji?”

“Of course; it’s easy to get information on our own genin.”  He repeated the card flipping process and examined the revealed charts.  “It seems that he is fairly well balanced in his skills, but excels in taijutsu above the others.  He’s completed twenty D-rank and eleven C-rank missions, and he’s one year older than you.  He is considered a Hyuuga clan genius, and likely would have taken the chuunin exam last year had his team been ready for it.  Maito Gai is his squad leader, and his teammates are Rock Lee and Tenten.”

“Hm, nothing I didn’t already know I guess.”  Naruto shrugged.  “Thanks for the help, though.”

“Of course,” Kabuto smiled, gathering up his cards and rising.  “We’re all Konoha genin, after all.  Even if we are pitted against one another in this exam, we should never forget that we’re from the same village.”  That made Naruto grin, and he laced his fingers behind his head and nodded emphatically.

“Quiet down you punks!” Naruto had an affirming response at the tip of his tongue, but it died as the commanding voice rang out and a large cloud of smoke burst up at the front of the room.  A tall, intimidating man wearing a black trench coat and bandana stood at the front of a small crowd of chuunin.  He had harsh features, made all the more intense by the several long scars cutting down the length of his face.  “My name is Morino Ibiki, and I am the examiner for the first test of this Chuunin Selection Exam.”

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Ten minutes later all of the genin were sitting at their desks, having turned in the applications in exchange for a randomly assigned seat.  Naruto had drawn number 53, and at first Hinata had been given the seat directly to his right.  It wasn’t long before she was moved, however; the examiners didn’t want any teams sitting together.  All of the chuunin proctors sat along the walls, holding clipboards and maintaining ominous expressions.

“I’m going to explain the rules while the tests are being handed out.  Pay attention, because I will not repeat myself or take any questions.”  He wrote in short, rapid motions on the chalkboard as he spoke, emphasizing his words with each stroke.  “You are all given ten points at the beginning of the exam, and the test itself consists of ten questions, each of which are worth one point.  For every question you get wrong, you will lose one point.

“Second, your team’s total points will determine whether or not you pass.”  There were a lot of mutters at that, and Sakura even began to exclaim something before she was cut off.  “Quiet!  Just sit there and listen.  You damn genin act like I don’t have my reasons.

“Third, if one of the examiners sees you cheating, you will lose two points.  That means there will be some of you who will fail before the hour is up.  If you try to cheat sloppily you’ll not only hurt yourself; your team will suffer the consequences as well.  You don’t deserve to become a chuunin unless you can act like a first-rate ninja.  Got it?”  The room was filled with stiff nods for a second before Ibiki concluded his speech.

“Lastly, if any member of your team gets a zero on this exam, your whole team fails.”  There were a few gasps at that, but nobody even thought of arguing with the man now.  He looked around one last time, smirked, then barked his last instructions.  “You have one hour to complete the exam.  The tenth problem will be given out fifteen minutes before the test concludes.”  He took a look at the clock; it was only a few seconds until 3:30.  “Begin!”

 _I know . . . Absolutely none of these questions._   Naruto stared at his paper nervously, going through the problems.  Each one seemed more difficult than the next, to the point that several looked positively absurd.  _We are so_ _–_

 ** _You’re an idiot,_** the Kyuubi drawled, yawning in the back of his mind.  **_Think for a second about what he said.  I know you’re not that thick, kid._**   Naruto glowered, but wracked his brain for a few seconds.  He could feel the fox’s eyes roll before he started figuring it out.

 _The test encourages us to cheat, but only if we can do it well,_ he concluded, blinking down at his paper.  He could have hit himself for missing it; Iruka and Kakashi had continuously tried to drill into him the importance of thoroughly examining situations.  Kakashi had called it seeing ‘underneath the underneath’ or something, though Iruka just told him to use his head.  _Alright, so how am I going to cheat?_

 ** _Beats me.  I can only give you the answer to two of these; I’m fairly certain they were written to be complicated.  I’d be willing to bet that your girlfriend knows a few answers, but you’ll have to find the smart kid in the room to find the rest from._**   Naruto blinked and picked up his pencil, nodding and scribbling down the correct formulas and answers for questions three and eight.  The information had just popped into his head and was as clear as if he had just read it himself.

After completing the two questions with the Kyuubi’s help, Naruto leaned back and feigned a yawning stretch, shrugging his shoulders and thrusting his hands under the desk.  He had to stop himself from breaking into a light sweat; he had never been good with delicate jutsu, especially when under pressure.  His hands worked as quickly as possible in the limited time that the stretch might be believable, forming a few quick hand signs before he brought them back up.  _Fuuton: Wind Whisper._   Naruto concentrated on his friends’ chakra signatures, twining his fingers together over his mouth to appear like he was thinking down at his paper.

“Hinata, Sasuke,” he mouthed, moving his lips as little as he could.  No sound escaped him, but it would travel clearly along the invisible tendrils of air connecting his allies.  They had thought up the technique together as a means of communicating short distances without radios, and with Kakashi’s help had found a way to make it work.  Naruto kept it as short as he could, afraid of his own lack of control.  “Fox knew three and eight.”  He quickly detailed the answers and waited.  A minute later Hinata’s voice drifted to him in the softest whisper.

“I have one, four, and nine.”  In short order they had completed five problems of the test, and a few quick glances to the proctors told them that they had not been found out.  Hinata finished detailing the three questions she had worked out before Sasuke contacted them, sounding a tad annoyed in his bare mutter.

“Don’t know any, but I have a hunch.  There’re 155 genin in the room; that’s two more than there should be.  I’m going to try to find them.  If that fails, there’s always Sakura.”  Naruto blinked, but then smiled very slightly.  If anything Sakura was smart; she had always maintained the top grades in their class when it came to ninja know-how.  If anybody could figure out the problems on their own, it was her.  He wasn’t sure of the purpose behind the two extra genin, but Sasuke seemed to have a good idea.

“I think it’s the genin in the center aisle, second row from the front, third from the left,” Hinata inserted, and Naruto could almost see her in his mind’s eye with her Byakugan active.  “He’s not doing anything suspicious; he’s just writing and looks confident.”  Sasuke took a few seconds to speak again, but when he did he sounded smug.

 “Good catch, Hinata; he’s writing down all of the answers without hesitating.  I can barely see his hand, but I think I can copy the pencil movements.  On two, the formula for the parabola is . . .” He walked them through the complicated second question before communicating the stolen answers from four and five.  In the meantime Hinata found who she thought was the second infiltrator, and through him got the sixth answer.  By the time they had finished it was just after four o’clock.  Each of them turned over their papers and sat back, relieved.

“Even if some of them are wrong, I bet we do better than most.  Talk to you in a bit.” Naruto grinned and cut the flow of chakra between them, folding his arms trying to relax for the last fifteen minutes until the tenth question was offered.

During the first half hour of the test nearly twenty teams were removed from the room, some of which caused a great deal of commotion.  Every now and then an examiner would call out a number, state that they were disqualified, and list the two other numbers corresponding with his or her teammates.  Several genin had to be dragged away screaming; it was apparent that this exam meant a lot to some of them.

Fifteen minutes after four, Ibiki walked to the front again, turning to address the classroom.  “Alright, put your pencils down.  I will now announce the tenth question.”  A tense, silent room faced the first examiner.  Even Naruto was starting to feel nervous again, although it was a reaction to the surroundings more than a lack of personal confidence.  “Before I do, there are some special rules that go along with this question in particular.  The first is that you can choose whether or not you wish to take the tenth question.  If you choose not to, your total points will be reduced to zero, resulting in your team’s failure.”  A chorus of outraged mutters and a few shouts filled the room before he barked for silence again.  “The second rule,” he continued, hard eyes roaming the room, “Is that if you choose to take the last question, and then get it wrong, you will never be permitted to take the Chuunin Exam again.”

“That’s bull!” Kiba exclaimed, already on his feet and pointing an accusatory finger at Ibiki.  “There’s no way they’d let you get away with that; besides, there’s plenty of genin here that have taken the exam before!”  Ibiki merely chuckled at him, the sound devoid of mirth.

“You kids just drew the short straw this year.  I make the rules here.”  His impassive expression told everybody that he wasn’t joking.  Naruto blinked several times, halting a rising tide of indignation and recalling what Kakashi had told them before the bell test.  It was a trick.  Kakashi had never intended to send only one of them back to the academy; he had only said it to test them.  Naruto was willing to bet that Ibiki was using the same tactic to scare off anybody who wasn’t determined to take the exam.  He glanced back to Sasuke, then Hinata, beaming at both of them before settling back in his chair and staring defiantly at Ibiki.

Sasuke smirked and laced his fingers together, propping his elbows on the desk and leaning forward casually.  Hinata looked worried, but Naruto’s brief show of confidence had assuaged the worst of her anxiety.  She had worked it out as well, but there was always a chance that Ibiki wasn’t lying.  The thought plagued her as he continued, and her grip on her coat tightened slowly.

“So, before I give the last question, I’m offering everybody here the chance to quit.  All you need to do is raise your hand, and you’ll be able to return to the exam next time.  If you don’t, it’s possible that you’ll remain a genin forever.”  He paused, looking around the room to make sure everybody had gotten the message.  As expected, the mixture of nervous emotions ran from extreme anger to bitter defeat.  _Perfect._   “Now, if you do not wish to accept the tenth question, raise your hand.”

A fragile silence reigned for almost a full minute.  Cold sweat covered more than one brow, and several genin even began to hyperventilate.  Finally, a man next to Naruto stood up sharply, raising his hand and hanging his head.  “I’m quitting.  I’m sorry . . . I – I just can’t!”

“Number 50 fails.  Numbers 130 and 111 leave with him.”  The genin’s words seemed to open a floodgate, and soon a dozen more teams had been cleared from the room.  Hinata closed her eyes tightly, her knuckles turning white as they gripped the hem of her coat under the desk.  _I’m not going to raise my hand.  I trust them.  Naruto-kun wouldn’t want me to give up._   It was a comforting thought within a sea of doubt, and she held on to it.

Ibiki looked around the room, seeming a little dissatisfied.  _Looks like that’s it._   As the doors closed behind the last three dejected genin, he gazed around one last time.  “Last chance,” he growled, seeming to stare into each of them individually.  Though several young shinobi were visibly trembling, no one else raised a hand.  “Alright then; I like your resolve.  For all of those remaining . . .” He paused for effect, enjoying the rising apprehension in the room.  “You pass.”

“I knew it!” Naruto burst out triumphantly, on his feet in excitement.  “Just like Kakashi-sensei!”  Ibiki wasn’t the only one taken aback by the outburst, but he was the first to recover.  For the first time the veteran shinobi grinned.

“What do you mean, ‘you pass’?” Sakura demanded.  “You never gave us the tenth question!”

“There never was a tenth question,” Ibiki stated calmly, lifting his hand to untie his bandana.  “Unless you count your choice of deciding whether or not to take the theoretical last question.”  She looked at him blankly, then sat down heavily.

“So this whole exam was a waste?” Temari asked with a huff.

“No, it wasn’t.  Those of you that remain all managed to cheat stealthily enough not to be caught.  Several of your teams didn’t even have a single point deducted.  The purpose of the first nine questions was to test your ability to retrieve information without being caught, a fundamental skill of any adept shinobi.”  Naruto hadn’t quite thought it through that thoroughly, but he nodded.  It made perfect sense.  “But the whole test was a setup for the final question, to put you under stress and strain to find out if you’d snap.  Those remaining did not, obviously, and that is one of the most valuable attributes to any ninja.”  He finished undoing his bandana, lifting it slowly from his head to reveal a horribly marred scalp.  There were holes straight through his skull in places, and everywhere else held old burns and deep scars.  The room filled with a collective gasp before his expression turned hard again.

“Poor decisions can be made under stressful circumstances, and these decisions can lead to dire consequences for you and your team.  As a chuunin you would have to make difficult decisions, including accepting dangerous missions that will put your life in jeopardy, as well as the lives of your allies.  There is no time for second guessing, no room for doubt.  Uncertainties and danger are part of a shinobi’s life.  Do not forget the consequences of your decisions.”  He nodded at them, as if to emphasize his scarred head, before putting his hitai-ate back on.

“If you are still here, it means that you are capable of making those choices.  It also means you are able to, in a stressful environment, make the right selection of who to cheat from.”  Ibiki pointed then at a young man near the front of the room, and at another near the middle.  “We snuck in two chuunin who knew the test answers.  I assume that the majority of you pinpointed them and copied their answers somehow.”  Naruto quirked an eyebrow, then grinned broadly.  That was what Sasuke had been talking about, and he must have guessed correctly at which person to get answers from.

“You all have the determination required to become chuunin,” Ibiki continued, his smirk returning.  “Thus, you all have passed the entrance exam.  The first test ends here, and I wish you the best of luck in the coming exam.”  He had hardly finished speaking when the window closest to him shattered inward, sending hundreds of shards of glass about the room.  The genin had to cover their heads, and several – including Team Seven – were on their feet and crouched.  They relaxed, however, and blinked away confusion as a huge black canvas unfurled directly in front of Ibiki.  It read in giant white script: ‘Second Examiner, Mitarashi Anko is here!’

“You kids have no time to celebrate!” The kunoichi – presumably Anko – now standing in front of the sign was flashing a toothy grin about the room, seeming almost mad in her jovial enthusiasm.  “I am Mitarashi Anko, and I’ll be the second examiner for this Chuunin Exam.  We’re going to the second part now; follow me!”

“Anko, it’s not until tomorrow morning,” Ibiki sighed, coming out from behind the banner.  Anko’s expression darkened as she looked about the room, muttering under her breath to the taller man.

“Sixty?  That’s a bit much; I had hoped to have less than fifteen.  You’re getting soft, Ibiki.”

“It just looks like there are a lot of good students this year,” he shrugged.

“Whatever,” she said, louder now so that the entire room could hear.  “I’ll just have to make sure that over half of the remaining teams fail in the next round.”  Naruto grimaced, and the rest of the room shared similar reactions.  “The second exam is actually tomorrow morning; I’ll share the details with you there.  Ask your team’s jounin instructor about the rendezvous time and location.  That’s all.  Dismissed.”

Naruto jumped out of his seat the moment Anko had given them permission to leave.  Hinata was just rising when he reached her, and she nearly toppled over from the force of his excited hug.  The poor girl turned a dozen shades of red when he actually lifted her from the ground, spinning her in a quick circle before setting her down and moving back to arm’s length, absolutely beaming.

“We did it!” he exclaimed, letting out a little yip of excitement.  Sasuke approached around the time that Hinata got ahold of herself enough to smile faintly at Naruto.  “You two were awesome.  Sasuke, I didn’t know you could do that.”  Despite his glee, the blond was tactful enough not to give away any of his friends’ secrets.  Sasuke just shrugged and smirked at him.  Naruto looked back to Hinata and blinked.  “Are you okay, Hinata-chan?”  Sasuke sighed at him and rolled his eyes, turning to join the other genin making their way towards the exit.

“Y-yes, I’m fine!” Hinata squeaked, her flush deepening.  “I’m just happy we’re through.”  That wasn’t the entire truth, but it seemed to be enough for Naruto.  He grinned again and grabbed her hand, taking off after Sasuke.

“C’mon; let’s go see Kakashi-sensei, then celebrate!”

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“Well done you three,” Kakashi said sincerely.  He had been waiting just outside of the academy entrance, perched in a tree and reading a book.  He could tell the moment his genin had emerged what the result had been.  “I was a little concerned when I heard that the examiner was Ibiki, but you seem to have handled it well.  How’d you get through it?”

“The Wind Whispering jutsu,” Naruto said happily, swinging his arm in excitement and subsequently bringing Hinata’s hand with it.  He quickly went over the exam rules that Ibiki had outlined before detailing how they had gotten past them.  “The Kyuubi knew a few answers, but Hinata figured out a bunch on her own.”  She blushed again at that, and he squeezed her hand a moment later as an extra show of appreciation.

“And let me guess: Sasuke used his Sharingan to copy pencil strokes.”  The Uchiha boy nodded, and Kakashi grinned.  “Were you able to get away with using your Byakugan as well, Hinata?”

“A little,” she admitted, biting at her lip.  “It’s more obvious than the Sharingan though, so I had to be careful.”

“She found one of the planted chuunin for me to copy off of; I wouldn’t have been able to get the answers without her.  Although I think Hinata could have found all of the answers on her own, given enough time,” Sasuke assured Kakashi.  “It was just easier to split it up.”

“Maybe in the next part of the exam I’ll be less useless,” Naruto laughed.  It was a good-natured comment, but Hinata still pursed her lips and raised her voice slightly.

“You were the one who came up with the technique in the first place, Naruto-kun.  We would have failed if we hadn’t been able to communicate with it.”  Sasuke grunted in the affirmative, and Naruto shrugged, rubbing at the back of his neck as a bit of pink rose in his cheeks.

“Good,” Kakashi commended, closing his novel and placing it back in his belt pouch.  “You all assessed the situation and achieved your goal as a team.  You handled it like a mission, which is exactly how every genin should have.  Naruto, just because you don’t feel that you contributed the same as your teammates doesn’t mean they see it that way.  So long as you all work together towards a common goal, everybody’s contribution is equal.  Don’t forget that.”  Naruto nodded, and then his expression sobered.

“Kakashi-sensei,” he started, looking around to make sure that they were alone.  The courtyard was empty now, but just in case he lowered his voice to a whisper.  “One of the Suna genin, Gaara, is the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi.”  Kakashi’s eye widened at that, then narrowed before he spoke sharply.

“Are you sure?  How do you know?”

“I . . . I could feel something about him, but I didn’t know what it was.  The Kyuubi said he recognized Shukaku’s chakra – that’s the Ichibi’s name, I guess.  I didn’t even know they had names.”  He thought about that for a moment while Kakashi considered what he had said; Sasuke and Hinata looked worried.  “Anyway, I just thought you should know.  I mean, I’m a jinchuuriki too, so I guess it doesn’t matter too much, right?”

“Probably not,” Kakashi started slowly.  “Did he realize the same about you?”

“I think so; he didn’t say much, but he was looking at me weird.  The Kyuubi said that Gaara had already submitted to Shukaku.  What does that mean, Kakashi-sensei?”

“I’m . . . not sure, Naruto.  All I can tell you three is to be careful around him.  There’s no telling what a jinchuuriki can do when his demon is in control.”  Naruto froze for a fraction of a second, then looked down.  He was suddenly very aware of the other three looking at him.  He tugged at his hand but Hinata held on tight, which brought a small smile back to his lips.  “I need to inform the Hokage about this, but you are not to tell anybody else about it.  Understood?”  Naruto looked up, and they nodded in unison.  “Good.  The rally point is at the forty-fourth training area, north of the village.  Be there at least fifteen minutes before eight tomorrow morning, and pack like you did for the mission to Wave Country.  I recommend doubling your arsenal as well.  Best of luck, Team Seven; I’ll see you again after the second exam.”  Without another word he made a sign with one hand and phased through the ground, the earth seeming to bend and ripple outward until he was gone.

“Well, Kakashi’s confident we’ll pass the next part at least,” Sasuke sighed, stretching upwards.  “Unless by ‘after the second exam’ he meant after we fail it.”

“Nah, there’s no way we’ll fail.  We’ll show Team Gai who the real strongest genin team is!”  Naruto pumped his fist in the air once before offering it to Sasuke, who promptly bumped his knuckles with his friend’s.  “I’ve gotta pick up some more kunai before tomorrow, so I’m gonna head back.  See you in the morning, Sasuke.”

“Later you two.  Don’t pull a Kakashi in the morning or I’ll have to pass the exam myself.”  Sasuke turned following his jest and all but vanished in a blur of speed.  He had to get home and prepare as well, not to mention fill in Haku about how the test had gone.

“Cocky jerk,” Naruto chuckled, turning with Hinata to stroll down the street towards a nearby shop.  “Do you need anything while we’re out, Hinata-chan?”

“I have everything I need, I think,” she said quietly, staring at her feet as they walked.  He nodded, glancing aside at her a moment later.  He couldn’t be sure, but something seemed off about his friend.  Hinata noticed him looking at her and flushed, looking away quickly.  “Naruto-kun?”

“Yeah?” She was definitely acting weird.  It was pretty normal for Hinata to blush a lot, but she had stopped looking down so much, and usually wouldn’t look away when they were talking.  “What’s up?”

“You didn’t . . . You didn’t mind, holding my hand or . . .” She reddened a bit more as she tried to get the words out.  “O-or hugging me like that in front of our classmates?”  The words had come out in a rush, and Hinata bit her lip a moment later as if she regretted asking.  Naruto stared at her curiously for a long moment before shaking his head and shrugging.

“No; should I have?  I didn’t mean to embarrass you or anything,” he went on quickly, hoping his careless stunt hadn’t damaged Hinata’s delicate sensibilities.  “I mean, we’re best friends right?  I can stop doing it if it makes you uncomfortable.”  Hinata missed a step and had to use Naruto’s hand to support herself for a moment.  Her reaction only made him more sure that he had done something regrettable.

“N-no it’s alright,” she stammered as she righted her steps.  “You’re right, Naruto-kun.  It’s fine, because we’re . . . We’re friends.”  She squeezed his hand a little; it was a gentle, reassuring gesture that she didn’t feel the source of herself.  Naruto squinted at her for a few seconds, then grinned and squeezed tightly back.

“Good, ‘cause I like holding your hand.”  He blushed while he said it, but spoke as cheerily as ever.  Hinata blinked at him several times before offering a shy smile, this time returning the grip with more fervor.

As Naruto went about his errand, Hinata kept him company.  Her mind wandered as he chattered on amiably, thinking back to all the time they had spent together.  She thought of the very first time that she had realized her real feelings for Naruto, only a short while ago in the Land of Waves.  ‘ _I can_ ’ she had told herself then.  _Maybe Naruto-kun just wants a friend,_ she reasoned as she watched him purchase a bundle of kunai.  _I can do that for him; I know I can._   _But . . ._ Hinata shook her head, donning a subdued smile.  _No, it’s enough just being here for him when he needs me.  I shouldn’t ask for more, even if . . ._

Even if she wanted to.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“I see.”  The Hokage exhaled deeply, letting out a long plume of pale smoke that swirled up and out the cracked window.  “You’re positive of this?”

“Yes, Hokage-sama.  I believe Naruto,” Kakashi replied with grave conviction.  Hiruzen mulled over the information the jounin had brought him for several minutes, puffing steadily on his long pipe.

“I would ask that you take the same instruction that you gave your students.  Do not speak of this to anyone.  I cannot risk anything in case Gaara does know of the Kyuubi; the Sand could take our knowledge of their jinchuuriki as an affront.  Not to mention, Naruto is participating in the chuunin exam; it would be unfair of me to prohibit Gaara from doing so on the basis of suspicion.  I will, however, make sure the boy is watched carefully.”  Kakashi bowed in acknowledgement and turned to leave.  “Kakashi,” the Hokage said in a softer voicer.  The masked jounin didn’t turn around, but he stopped and waited.  “You’ve done very well developing those three.  I doubt any jounin could have done better.”

“Thank you, Hokage-sama, but they are developing largely as a result of their own friendship.”  He faced the Sandaime again, his largely hidden features hard to read.  “They care deeply for one another, and they strive to better themselves in order to protect each other.  I merely point them in the right direction.”

“Kakashi,” the old man started in a gentle, chiding tone.  “You should take your own advice.  Just because you don’t think yourself a capable leader does not mean your subordinates think as much.”  Kakashi blinked several times, breaking his impassive expression.  How had Hiruzen known about that?  The Sandaime just smiled at him then, nodding in a manner that said the meeting was concluded.  Kakashi bowed again before exiting the room silently.

 _I’ve done well, hm?_ Kakashi mused, walking slowly through the darkness of Konoha’s streets.  He stopped at the center of an innocuous intersection, looking up to sky to examine the stars thoughtfully.  _Would you think so as well, Rin? Obito?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks. I apologize if you thought this chapter was a bore; I tried my best to make the written exam interesting, I promise. Plus, the real break from canon will become clearer soon, so rest assured there are many new adventures to come.
> 
> The only note for this chapter is that yes, there are six fewer teams than there were in canon. Canon Naruto, in the words/thoughts of Ibiki, more or less strengthened the resolve of the remaining genin when he was all dramatic. Since he did not make that outburst here, more of the genin were allowed to wallow in doubt, resulting in more voluntary expulsions.
> 
> Thank you to Rhi, my beta, for reviewing this chapter. I appreciate it greatly, as always. Thank you all also for the reviews, follows, and favorites; every one is an encouragement.


	11. A Snake in the Forest

“Be safe you two!” Iruka called from the balcony of their home, waving to Naruto and Hinata as they left the building.  He smiled to himself; their hands were clasped together like always, and the pair made a cute scene waving back at him with their free hands.  _You’ll figure it out soon enough, Naruto._

Sasuke met them at the gate wearing a light backpack similar to their own.  “Yo.  You ready?”

“You bet we are,” Naruto said with abundant confidence, and Hinata nodded determinedly at his side.  “Do you have everything?”

“You get to carry the tent,” Sasuke grinned, tossing him the rolled canvas.  “I’ve got everything I need; a few days’ rations, some soldier pills, change of clothes, and enough shuriken and kunai to take on an army.  Let’s get moving; I want to get there early to look around a little.”  Naruto finished tying the tent to the bottom of his pack, shrugged it back on, and nodded.

It took nearly twenty minutes to get to the designated rally point.  Upon arrival they were met with a peculiar scene; a long, covered booth had been set up with several chuunin inside, each looking exceedingly bored.  Anko was standing by a tall fence barking orders to a few others, and it took her a moment to notice the trio.

“Ah, so a few of the rookies were the first to arrive.  I like that.  You were . . . Who again?” she asked, leaning forward to examine them closer with a furrowed brow.

“Uchiha Sasuke.”

“Hyuuga Hinata.”

“Uzumaki Naruto; we’re Team Seven.”  He grinned at the kunoichi, who returned his smile with a fierce one of her one.

“Well Team Seven, welcome to the Forest of Death!” Anko proclaimed, gesturing to the thick woods behind the fence.  “Er, I’m kinda busy though.  We’ve still got another half hour until eight; just hang out here, but don’t get too close to the fence.  And don’t wander off.  And don’t touch anything.”  With that she turned and walked briskly to the booth, speaking very quickly at every chuunin she could manage to get the attention of.

“She seems about as eccentric as she did yesterday,” Sasuke muttered, turning towards the forest and peering at it thoughtfully.  There was an old, faded sign on a nearby gate that read ‘Forest of Death’; it looked like it hadn’t been opened in years.  “I haven’t heard much about this place, except that it’s dangerous; I’m sure anybody could gather that much from the name, though.”

“We’ll be fine.”  Naruto and Sasuke both glanced to Hinata, who flushed under their gaze.  “W-What?  If it’s a survival test, I know we’ll do well.”  Naruto grinned at her and nodded emphatically.

“Yep; we won’t have a problem with this exam.”  Of course, none of them could be sure of what it would entail, but that didn’t hinder their resolve.  After working as a team the previous day and successfully passing the first test – which had earned a sixty percent fail rate – they had reason to be confident.  “What do you think we’ll have to do?”

“I’m not sure, but I bet we’ll have to fight the other teams.  There’s no way that sixty genin will go in here and not run into one another,” Sasuke responded, sounding pensive.  “Hinata, what does it look like in there?  You can see around four hundred meters, right?”  She nodded, and a moment later she was peering into the woods with her Byakugan active.

“As far as I can see there’s only forest, but the trees are unnaturally big, and they look very old.  There’s a lot of space between most of them, and it doesn’t look like there’s much brush further in.”  She squinted after a few seconds of silenced, then her eyes went wide and she took a step back.  “A-and there are really, _really_ big bugs,” she said shakily, quickly releasing her bloodline ability.  When the two boys looked at her curiously, she swallowed and calmed herself.  “There was, um . . . A centipede.”

“A big centipede?” Naruto asked, blinking at her several times.  “Like, a meter-long centipede or something?”  The thought of such a large, creepy animal almost caused an involuntary squirm.

“More like fifteen meters,” Hinata said faintly.  Even Sasuke blanched slightly at that, and Naruto shivered visibly.  “I . . . I had no idea they could grow that big.”

“Let’s ah . . . Can we try to avoid those?” Naruto laughed, glancing at the woods and trying not to think about what else might be within.  Hinata nodded quickly, and Sasuke didn’t offer any argument.

Over the course of the next thirty minutes the others arrived.  Most found a spot away from the other teams to wait for the exam to start, likely for the sake of private conversation and planning.  Team Eight and Team Ten came over to them immediately, though, chatting idly as they had done before the last test.  Nobody shared any information on how they had passed the written exam; they all understood that the next portion would pit them against one another, and that revealing any secrets could cost them.

“Hey Lee, Tenten, Neji,” Naruto called as he spotted Team Gai arrive, waving to them.  Lee grinned and altered his course, but Neji put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.  Tenten glanced from her teammates to Naruto, shrugged, then flashed a smile at the rookies before continuing on with her allies.  Lee looked disappointed, but waved enthusiastically nonetheless.  “Jerk,” Naruto glowered, glaring at Neji.  Before he could go back to his conversation with Kiba, Anko shouted over the crowd of genin.

“Alright, listen up!”  She was standing in front of the chain-linked fence, next to a sign that read ‘Warning: You may die.’  Naruto had a feeling she had positioned herself there on purpose.  “All of the teams are here, and it’s nearly eight so it’s time to start.  However, before we begin I’m going to pass around these consent forms.  It basically says that you release me and the village from being responsible for your death.  From here on out, your death is a very real possibility.  Any person that refuses to sign one of these – and subsequently his or her team – will be disqualified from the Chuunin Exam.”  Anko seemed satisfied that there weren’t many surprised looks at that information.  She handed off the stack of papers to the nearest genin to begin passing them around before she began again.

“While these go around I’m going to explain the second exam.”  She drew a scroll from her coat pocket and let it drop open, displayed to the group.  “Here’s a map of the forty-fourth training ground.  It has a river running directly through the middle, a tower in the center, and a dense forest all around.  The tower is about ten kilometers from any of the outside gates.”  After looking around for a few seconds she replaced the map, drawing out two more scrolls.  “This test, as many of you have likely guessed by now, is one of survival, but with another purpose.”  She held the scrolls out for them to see; one was dark blue with the symbol for ‘Earth’ on the seal, and the other was white with ‘Heaven’ inscribed upon it.  “Each team will receive one scroll in return for three consent forms.

“In order to pass this exam, you must reach the tower at the center of the Forest of Death with both scrolls, all three of your teammates, and within the time limit of one hundred and twenty hours.”  Realization dawned on the gathered genin then, and Anko smirked.  “That’s right: it also means only ten teams will be able to pass this portion of the exam, although it’s possible that fewer than that will make it through.  Listen closely: there are no rules in acquiring the scrolls.  You are encouraged not to use deadly force where possible, but there will be no repercussions for killing.”  There were a few gasps at that, including one from Hinata.  Sasuke looked at Anko placidly, and Naruto’s eyes narrowed.  A few, however, looked excited.

“Are we allowed to quit after we’re inside?” Shikamaru asked.

“As a rule, you must spend all five days in the forest,” Anko explained with a mirthless smirk.  “But that’s a good question.”  Shikamaru muttered something about how troublesome this exam was, but she continued as if she hadn’t heard.  “There are only a few ways for you to fail.  The most important is that, again, you must bring both scrolls to the tower with all of your teammates within the time limit, or you’re out.  Second, if one of your teammates is deemed ‘unrecoverable’ when you arrive at the tower – that is, they’re too far gone to save – you will fail.  And lastly,” she said, brandishing the scrolls, “If you open these before you arrive at the tower, you will fail.

“That’s it for the explanation.  You have until half past nine to turn in your consent forms over there.”  She pointed at the large booth to her right that held three chuunin proctors, who waved lazily at the crowd.

“Why do we have so long to turn them in?” Naruto asked, looking up from the form to Anko.

“Because you should consider carefully before you sign that document,” she responded seriously.  “The possibility of death is real now, and not all that small.  You have the chance to back out here if you wish, but otherwise you will at least think hard on what is to come.  Now,” she barked, lifting her gaze to the rest of the teams.  “When you receive your scroll you will be escorted to one of the forty-four gates surrounding the training ground.  The second exam will commence at exactly ten o’clock.  Oh, and one last thing: if you brought any gear with you outside of ninja tools, you’re going to leave it here.”  She grinned wickedly, and Naruto scowled.  Only a handful of teams had brought extra supplies, but it seemed Anko wouldn’t have any unfair advantages.  “I know some of your teachers likely recommended them, or you might have thought to do it on your own, but this is a survival test.  If you can’t survive without additional gear, you shouldn’t be in this exam.  That’s it; good luck, and don’t die!”

Naruto shrugged out of his pack and sighed, setting it down by a tree a fair distance from the fence.  Hinata and Sasuke did the same, retrieving only the essentials to place in their belt pouches.  “Well, at least we planned ahead,” Naruto commented lightly, chuckling despite the situation.  “I’m going to assume that we can take soldier pills at least?  Those count as ninja tools.”

“I’d say so,” Sasuke said dryly, stuffing a few of the black capsules away in his back belt pouch.  “Oy, Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon.  Take this stuff back for us.”  A nearby bush rustled just then, accompanied by a trio of gasps, and after a moment Naruto grinned.

“Did you three follow us again?” he asked with mock incredulousness.

“We want to join the Chuunin Exam too!” a small boy’s voice exclaimed, and Konohamaru burst from the bushes followed closely by his two subordinates Moegi and Udon.  They were all around eight years old, and each sported a long purple headband almost identical to Naruto’s.

“You’ve still got a few more years until you can do that,” Naruto chided, pointing a thumb at his hitai-ate.  “Once you’ve worn one of these for a while, then you might be ready.”  Konohamaru looked indignant, but Naruto could only smile and shake his head.  He had taken a liking to the three of them, in part because they reminded him of when he had been in the academy with Sasuke and Hinata.  The little girl – Moegi – was much more outspoken than Hinata, and Udon couldn’t measure up to Sasuke, but their friendship was strong.  Konohamaru reminded Naruto a lot of himself when he had been that age, too.

“But,” Naruto continued, lowering his voice and feigning solemnity.  “I do have a mission for you three.”  Their eyes widened and they nodded quickly.  “Like Sasuke said, we need a team we can trust to take these packs back to Iruka-sensei.  Do you think you can do that for us?”  While Konohamaru was terrible at hiding his excitement, he tried his best to don a skeptical expression.

“Maybe.  What rank mission would it be?”

“Probably D-rank,” Naruto admitted, before glancing around furtively, “But we _are_ outside of the village.  Who knows what could be around?  This could even be a C-rank mission.”  That was enough for the boy, and he quickly saluted the whole of Team Seven.

“The Konohamaru Corps accepts your mission, Naruto-niichan!”  They all spoke in unison, as if they had practiced the line.  Bubbling with anticipation, they quickly gathered up the discarded packs and struggled into them.  Konohamaru, of course, took Naruto’s.  They made quite the sight, all wearing oversized backpacks; the tent canvas at the bottom of Konohamaru’s even dragged lightly on the ground.

“Great!  We’ll see you guys after the exam, and tell Iruka-sensei not to worry.”  They all nodded grimly and trotted off towards Konoha, leaving Naruto to shake his head.  “Was I really like that when I was his age?”

“Pretty much,” Sasuke sighed, though he was smirking slightly.  “A little more annoying, though.”  Naruto shoved him at that remark.

“Are you sure it’s safe to send them back alone?” Hinata asked worriedly, watching after the retreating kids.

“We’re not too far away,” Naruto reasoned, though his expression sobered slightly.  “They shouldn’t be out here anyway, and we can’t leave.  It seemed like a good excuse to get them back inside the village.  Besides, I feel like it might be more dangerous for them to stick around here.”  His eyes traveled around, looking hard at a few teams in particular.  “Some of these people seem really off.  Did you see that one guy with the long tongue?  He looked _excited_ when Anko-sensei said that we could kill each other.”

“Some guys are just creeps,” Sasuke muttered.  “We should use this time to form a plan, though.  We know all of the rules now, and what our goal is.”

“Do you think it will take five days to do?  I feel like the limit is set high on purpose.”  Hinata seemed thoughtful as she looked around at the other genin, then finally back towards the Forest of Death.  “Maybe it’s to give us time to recover before the next test?”

“Maybe,” Naruto said after a few seconds, “Or maybe it’s just a way to sort out the strong teams from the weaker ones.  I can’t imagine it’d take more than a day or two for a good team to find another scroll and get to the tower.  Even from the gate we could make it there in ten minutes.”  Sasuke thought about that for a moment before nodding, then spoke slowly as if considering his own words.

“True, but don’t forget we’ll have nineteen other teams to contend with.  We need to be cautious.  Hinata, can you take a look towards the booth and look at the scrolls?  I want to know if you can tell them apart with your Byakugan active.”

“Is that allowed?” she asked, sounding nervous.

“We were encouraged in the first exam to gather information by cheating,” Sasuke shrugged.  “You just happen to have a bloodline ability that lets you see through things.  No harm in using it to give ourselves a better chance.”  Hinata chewed at her lower lip for a moment before nodding; if it would help them get through the exam, she would do it.

_Byakugan._ She was still meeting Sasuke’s eyes, but it was clear that her focus was elsewhere.  The covered area where the scrolls were presumably held was to her left and out of normal sight, but that wouldn’t stop a Hyuuga.  “I can see them,” she murmured after a time.  “There are two piles under the desk where the chuunin are sitting.  I can see the symbols on each of them.”  Despite herself, Hinata got a little excited at that.  She would be able to tell which teams got ahold of which type of scroll, too.

“Great!  You’re the best, Hinata-chan.”  Naruto grinned and laced his fingers behind his head, leaning back against the tree.  “So now we just wanna be the last team, right?”

“Neji-niisan is watching as well,” she said quietly, making sure not to turn towards Team Gai.  “I imagine they’ll wait as well.”

“Let’s just wait until the last minute; they’ll have to approach then, too.  Anko-sensei would see either of your Byakugan from there.”  Hinata and Naruto nodded.  “How long can you keep your Byakugan active before it starts to wear on you?”

“Maybe . . . Three hours?” she offered timidly.  Naruto frowned at her, and she spoke again quickly.  “Well, it starts to get hard after two.”  Hinata fidgeted slightly when he smiled at her then; she knew he wouldn’t want her to inconvenience or strain herself.  Sasuke only nodded.

“So after you find out which teams have which scrolls, make sure to take it easy until the exam starts.  We’ll need you to have it active as much as possible while we travel in order to watch for danger and figure out which teams to engage.”

“We can’t make Hinata-chan use her Byakugan like that,” Naruto inserted calmly.  “You remember what happened last time she used it too much; she could hardly see.  I think we should run it like we did going to Wave Country: every few minutes or so, just to check around.”  Sasuke glanced at Hinata, who nodded once.  “If it’s just a quick peek a few hundred meters all around, it should be okay right?”  She nodded again, smiling very slightly at the concern Naruto was showing on her behalf.  “Alright then, but if we get approached when Hinata can’t see . . .”

They spent the next forty-five minutes discussing how to deal with different scenarios, everything from giant centipedes to multiple teams attacking at once.  Hinata reported as each team went to retrieve a scroll, and they did their best to commit it all to memory.  When the deadline was only five minutes away, Team Seven and Team Gai were the only ones left in the area, the rest having been escorted to their gates.

“Five minutes!” Anko called, beckoning the teams over.  “You’re either in or you’re not now, and you’ve already spied on the rest of the teams!”  Hinata winced and allowed her Byakugan to fade, glancing at Naruto and Sasuke guiltily.  The latter shrugged and stretched, and Naruto just laughed and winked at her.

“Hey, she doesn’t seem mad, and hasn’t disqualified us.  And now we don’t have to worry about Neji spying on us.”  He offered his hand and she took it without hesitating, rising from her seat and joining him beside Sasuke.  Naruto glanced over at Team Gai, who had also stood and were now walking towards the booth.  “Alright, let’s go.”

“Pretty good plan, you two,” Anko said wryly as the six genin approached.  “There wasn’t any rule against it, so I can’t do anything but compliment your creativity.  However,” she continued, casually drawing out one Scroll of Heaven and one Scroll of Earth, “Since you know everybody else’s scrolls, and you’ll probably check each other’s when you leave, you may as well know now.”  She tossed the white scroll to Naruto, and the black to Neji.  “Your forms?”  They presented her with their signed documents, which she checked and pocketed nonchalantly.  “Excellent.  Follow your chuunin guide to your assigned gate, and good luck.”  The kunoichi spun on her heel, yelling for a chuunin to fetch her some tea and dango as she strode away.

It took several minutes after they parted ways with Anko and Team Gai to reach their gate.  They had been assigned to Gate 12, and from the path their guide had taken them on it could be assumed that they had passed around at least twenty other gates to get there.  It was impossible to tell, though, as they had been made to travel in the skirting woods, presumably to not find out where the other teams were starting.  The chuunin leading them also warned Hinata not to use her Byakugan, a caution that she was sure to heed.

“Only a few more minutes to go,” Naruto said quietly.  They were standing a few meters from their gate, in front of which stood their chuunin guide.  He hadn’t said a word since they had arrived, though he had unlocked the chain holding the doors closed.  “Anything we might not have gone over, you think?”

“I think we’ve got almost everything covered.  Just try not to die, alright?” Sasuke smirked, but Hinata spoke up immediately after, her voice unusually steady and sharp.

“Don’t say that, Sasuke.”  He blinked at her, but sobered quickly; she looked serious.  “I don’t want any of us to forget that we really could die in this exam, and our friends could too.  If we forget for an instant, it might happen.”  She held her expression for another moment before taking a deep breath, appearing to relax a little as if she had needed to get that off of her chest.  Naruto smiled softly and reached for her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.  Sasuke took hold of each of their hands and applied his own comforting pressure.

“Don’t worry; as long as we stick together, we’ll be safe.  We’ll watch each other’s backs and get through this part of the exam together,” Naruto said with quiet, unshakable confidence.  Hinata nodded firmly, as did Sasuke.

“Thirty seconds,” the chuunin said blandly, stepping to the side of the gate.  Team Seven lined up in front of the gate with Hinata at the center and on point.  “Fifteen seconds.”  She activated her Byakugan a second later, and they all began channeling chakra to their feet.  “Ten.”  Naruto took in a deep breath and bent his knees slightly, his allies making the same movement in preparation to take off.  “Five.”  As their proctor counted down the last few seconds, a fierce smile took hold of Naruto’s features.  Sasuke had his signature smirk in place, accented by visible anticipation.  Hinata smoothed her expression and breathed one last, deep breath.

“Go!” The gates flew open at the call, and Team Seven leapt forward and into the Forest of Death.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Hinata’s hand shot out to the side, signaling a halt.  Naruto and Sasuke landed on the tree branch on either side of her, crouching low and keeping alert.  It had only been five minutes since the trio had taken to the trees, and they had made sure to move swiftly and as silently as possible.  Thus far all they had passed were a few overgrown insects.

“Team Gai is southeast, three hundred and fifty meters.  But . . . I think Neji-niisan spotted us too, and they changed course.  I . . . I don’t think they want to fight us, even though they know we have a scroll they need.”  She sounded relieved, but expressed her concern a moment later.  “I think we should avoid them as well; even if we could win, one of us might get too injured to continue.”

“They’re probably thinking the same thing,” Sasuke murmured, allowing his smirk to return.  “And we _could_ win, Hinata.”

“There’s something else,” she continued quickly, turning her head slightly to one side.  “Another team is approaching behind us; by their hitai-ate I can tell that they’re Konoha genin, but none that we know.”  Naruto and Sasuke both nodded, and as a single unit they vanished into the leaves above.

A minute later the team arrived, passing through cautiously on the ground.  Their leader was a stocky man with a plain face and small, beady eyes that flicked back and forth restlessly.  His teammates were both male, and seemed to be identical twins; they were tall and skinny, especially compared to the other man.  Each twin carried a katana on his back, and their teammate had a short, curved blade on either hip.

From his hiding spot, Naruto signaled at Sasuke, then to Hinata.  A moment later two fists of shuriken flew from Sasuke’s cover towards the ninja below, flanked by several of Hinata’s kunai.  Naruto was already on his way to the ground with two clones, sprinting down a tree trunk.  However, the three genin weren’t amateurs.

The twins had their swords out and deflecting shuriken in a heartbeat, but it appeared that their leader had been too slow on the uptake.  Hinata’s knives struck him with deadly precision, digging into his neck, torso, and right shoulder.  He grunted and fell to the ground, but something about the movement seemed unnatural.  _Replacement._   Naruto’s eyes flicked upward as his feet hit the ground, and his clones loosed their kunai into the trees.  A curse and the sound of metal striking metal told him that his aim had been true.

By now Sasuke and Hinata were on their way, both brandishing kunai and looking serious.  They had discussed at length how they were to engage enemies: fast and relentless.  If they wanted to survive, there wouldn’t be room for leniency.

“Hinata, take your target; Sasuke, with me!”  Naruto was closing in on the two tall genin now, and after a final volley of shuriken he rushed in to engage them.  Calling them experts in swordplay would have been generous, though they were nothing to scoff at.  But he had spent a good amount of time sparring with a _real_ weapons master.  Sasuke landed next to him a moment later, taking the attention of one swordsman and fluidly transitioning into combat.

Hinata had seen the stocky man reappear following his technique, and she had also witnessed him getting struck in his right calf by one of Naruto’s thrown kunai.  He was kneeling on a branch just above the skirmish on the ground, forming shaky hand signs.  She appeared in front of him in a blur of motion, sweeping a leg and forcing him to jump back in a panic.  He snarled and drew his two blades in a practiced motion, somehow managing to support himself on his wounded leg.

“You three would attack genin from your own village, and aim to kill?” he said in a low growl.

“Our goal is to get through this test and survive, using whatever means necessary,” Hinata replied curtly, rushing forward before he could retort.  There was a reason Naruto had tasked her with engaging that genin: she could most easily keep up with his swordplay.  He wielded his light weapons with particular alacrity, likely the product of many years of training.  But where he was quick and precise, Hinata was faster and more accurate.  Every one of his strikes was avoided as the girl flowed around him like the air itself.  After only a few seconds both weapons spun from his hands, and his arms dropped uselessly to his sides.  Hinata pivoted once, thrusting a palm into the man’s torso and forcing chakra through it.  With hardly a sound the genin’s eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped forward, unconscious.

“You done up here?” Naruto asked, landing beside her a second later.  Sasuke arrived just after, eyeing Hinata’s downed opponent warily.

“Yes,” Hinata replied, a little breathless.  “You didn’t kill them, did you?”

“Of course not,” Naruto responded, sounding a little indignant.  “They weren’t all that good, and we only knocked them out.  I might have hit mine a little hard though; he’ll have a headache when he wakes up.”  Sasuke chuckled at that, shaking his head before addressing his teammates.

“Don’t you think that was a little easy?” he asked as Naruto leaned down to start searching the unconscious man for a scroll.  “I mean, I know we’re not exactly weak, but these guys were . . . Well they shouldn’t even be in this exam.”

“They passed the written exam,” Hinata pointed out quietly, looking at the genin sympathetically.  “But they might not be very adept at combat yet.  Plus we took them by surprise.”

“They’re older than us,” Naruto said, and he sounded happy about that fact.  “They probably just don’t train as hard.  I mean, the only genin I know that train as hard as we do are Team Gai’s.  Ah, found it!”  He withdrew his hand from the stocky man’s belt pouch and sighed a moment later.  He was holding a white scroll, one identical to his own with ‘Heaven’ written on it.  “Damn it, we forgot to check beforehand.”

“I’m sorry,” Hinata mumbled, looking down.  “I  . . . I guess I was too distracted to remember to look.  And now we took them out of the exam for no reason . . .” She trailed off, instantly miserable.

“Hey, Hinata-chan,” Naruto started in a chastising tone.  “It wasn’t your fault, and it wasn’t for no reason!  Think of it as limiting the competition for next round; since we have two Scrolls of Heaven now, it means one more team can’t pass, right?  So we just took out two teams in one swoop, sorta.”  He rubbed at the back of his neck and grinned at her, and after a moment she looked up and nodded, a small smile touching her features.

“You’re right, Naruto-kun.  But I’ll make sure to check next time, I promise.”  He returned her nod, then tossed the new scroll to her.  Hinata blinked at him a few times before placing the scroll in her back pouch.

“If he’s carrying one scroll, and you carry the other, it’ll be a safety precaution against either being stolen or lost somehow,” Sasuke said before the other boy could offer an explanation.  Hinata nodded, then turned to the defeated genin.

“Let’s hide them somewhere that will be safe, at least until they wake up.  I wouldn’t want to leave them here only to be eaten by something.”  She shivered at that, then leaned down to lift one of the men.

In short order they had the bodies hidden in the foliage below, collected as many projectiles as they could, and erased their tracks with a minor earth technique.  Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata bounded back into the trees, on the hunt once again.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

It was getting late in the afternoon when Team Seven finally called a halt.  They had only seen two other teams since the first, and both had Scrolls of Heaven in their possession.  The plan was to find a team carrying an Earth scroll and go all out to get it from them, and then make their way to the tower as soon as possible.  Of course, none of them expected it to be that simple, but they had plenty of alternative plans in the event the ideal didn’t play out.

“How’re your eyes, Hinata?” Sasuke asked after a sip of water.  He was leaning against a sizable root from a tree that hung over the bank of a river; the fresh water had provided a good resting point.

“I’m fine,” she replied, though after a pointed look from the boy she shrugged and corrected herself.  “My eyes are fine, I mean; I’m not feeling any strain yet.”  Sasuke nodded then and passed her the canteen.

“I’m going to send a few clones out now,” Naruto said, exhaling after a long stretch before forming the seal and muttering, “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.”  Eight clones popped up around him in little clouds of smoke, all mimicking his previous stretch and immediately beginning to chat with one another.  “Hey,” he said after a moment, and they all looked at him curiously.  “Four of you take a cardinal direction, and the rest take the ones in between.”

“I think those are called ordinal directions,” Sasuke corrected.  A few of the bunshin snickered, though were quieted a moment later by a hard look from Naruto.

“Right, then the rest take the _ordinal_ directions.  Smartass.”  His last comment was directed at his friend, who smirked cheekily back.  Naruto flushed lightly though when Hinata gave him a disapproving look.  “C’mon, hurry up.  Just stab yourselves if you find something to report back.”  They all sighed and complained before deciding who was going to take which direction.  A moment later they were gone, dashing off into the woods.

“That seems so . . . mean,” Hinata said, though her words lacked a certain amount of conviction.  “I know they’re clones, but telling them to just stab themselves?”  Naruto shrugged and sat back down on his rock, accepting the water from her afterwards.

“They all get a portion of my consciousness, so they know that the fastest way to get information back to me is to ‘die’.  I tried talking to them about it once; every clone has a slightly different personality I think, but they all know they’re temporary creations because _I_ know that.  I don’t know; it’s really weird.”  Hinata nodded at his explanation, seeming to understand better now.  The bunshin _were_ Naruto in a way, so it wasn’t so unbelievable that they shared his view of their purpose and existence.

“All I know is that they’re useful; you’re going to have to teach me and Hinata that some time.  I think we’ve built up our chakra enough over the last few years to at least handle a few.”  Sasuke caught the canteen as Naruto tossed it back, taking a last drink before leaning to refill and replace it.

“Probably, but I think Kakashi-sensei would be able to help more than I would,” Naruto admitted, scratching at the back of his neck.  Neither of them could argue with that; Kakashi had been the one to show Naruto how to use the technique, after all.  “Hinata-chan, can you do a quick check around just in case my clones missed something?”  She nodded and activated her bloodline, sweeping her gaze around slowly before shaking her head.

“It’s all clear; your bunshin are just approaching the edge of my vision.”  Naruto nodded and relaxed a little.  Sasuke and Hinata took a seat nearby, and for a time they enjoyed a calm silence.

“One down,” Naruto said a few minutes later, glancing south.  “Looks like Team Ten is that way, hiding in some bushes.”  A few seconds later he continued, and kept going as more clones presumably perished.  “There’s a team from the Rain northwest, near the tower; they found my clone and destroyed it.  East and Southeast are clear to the fence, I think.  Team Eight is directly west; Kiba punched me – er, my clone – in the face.”  He made a face, then chuckled before continuing.  “The rest are still going.”

“So heading northeast should work out best for us, at least if we don’t want to run into our old classmates and have to fight.”  Hinata nodded her agreement, and Naruto signaled his own concordance by standing and dusting off his long coat.

“I guess so; I’ll let you guys know if my clones –” He broke off suddenly and froze, the hair on the back of his neck standing up as a cold shiver ran down his spine.  The others felt it too, and immediately they assumed a fighting stance, all staring at the river.

“Ah, more perceptive than I thought,” came a rich, feminine voice from the water.  The water near the bank of the river rippled outward as a figure rose from within, and a few seconds later a lithe and androgynous Grass-nin stood regarding them mildly.  He – or at least, they thought it was a man – quirked a smile that looked wholly unpleasant.  The older shinobi wore his long, dark hair straight, capped with a broad straw hat.  A tan tunic covered a form-fitting black bodysuit, and the ensemble was belted by a thick indigo rope tied in an elaborate knot on the backside.

“Earth,” Hinata whispered, though even as she spoke the newcomer’s smile broadened.  The Grass shinobi reached behind his belt and withdrew a Scroll of Earth, holding it out for them to see.

“Indeed, but you already knew that, didn’t you little Hyuuga?”  The man tilted his head to the side then, lifting the scroll to his mouth and opening wide.  A serpentine tongue flickered out and wrapped around the document, acting as a grotesque lariat to draw it back and . . . straight down his throat.  Team Seven schooled their expressions carefully, though Naruto couldn’t keep himself from blanching slightly.  “Now then,” he continued, licking his lips and narrowing yellow, snake-like eyes.  “You want my scroll, so come and get it.”

Nothing about the Grass-nin changed; he didn’t even twitch.  But as suddenly as if somebody had flicked a switch they were struck by his monstrous killing intent, though referring to it as ‘monstrous’ couldn’t even come close to doing it justice.  It was beyond simple intent: it was a fact, a feeling so real that scenes of their own deaths flashed before their eyes.

Before Naruto even had time to process what had happened, he staggered back, leaning heavily on the tree roots.  Sasuke was on his knees, eyes wide and staring at the enemy ninja.  Hinata was in a similar state, having fallen backwards and now sat trembling uncontrollably.

**_Kid!_**  The Kyuubi roared in his head, though it sounded far away for some reason.  **_Snap out of it and get out of here; this guy will kill us!_**   The words processed slowly in his head, but he couldn’t move.  His body simply would not obey the simplest commands.  He had been paralyzed by fear.  **_Damn it kid, I_ hate _you sometimes._**

Orange-red chakra flared around Naruto then, and with it spilled the fox’s own murderous ambitions.  The display seemed to catch their adversary off guard, causing the feeling of dread to waver and dissipate a moment later.  The Kyuubi’s chakra died out as quickly as it had come, but it had served its purpose.  Naruto gasped, and beside him his allies took in sharp breaths as well.  As if of one mind the three genin vanished, leaving only a cloud of smoke behind as cover.

A few minutes later they all sat breathing hard in a thick growth of trees, still shaking from the earlier events.  Cold sweat coated Sasuke’s brow as he leaned on a tree trunk, and Naruto looked to be in nearly the same state beside him.  Hinata sat at the base of the same tree, her knees brought up to her chest and her head down.  None of them spoke for a full minute, all trying to regulate their breathing and figure out what had happened.

“That wasn’t genjutsu,” Sasuke muttered finally, trying to straighten himself. “That was . . . It was just his killing intent.”  Naruto nodded numbly, and Hinata’s grip around her knees tightened.  “There’s no way he’s a genin.  No way.  Even Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza combined didn’t give off that powerful an aura.  Not even half of that.”

“Right,” Naruto said after a few seconds, kneeling down next to Hinata to grip her hands tightly.  She squeezed back hard, and after a time calmed down enough to lift her head.  Tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes, but she held an expression that told him that she was determined not to let her emotions get the better of her.  He nodded once and continued.  “We’ll stay away from him then.  We’ll just keep going this way; Hinata, you might have to keep your Byakugan active for a while.”

“Oh children, running won’t help you.”  Naruto spun and straightened in a flash, trying to look everywhere at once.  Despite her condition Hinata was on her feet next to Sasuke as well.  The ominous voice echoed around them, turning into a slow, delighted laugh.  “I’ll admit you surprised me, Uzumaki Naruto; that was very interesting.  You three might yet entertain me.”

Branches snapped all around them, and when they looked up there were three massive snakes rushing towards them from the trees.  The two on either side were already impossibly sized, but the centermost was a true monster.  The Grass-nin stood calmly on its head, between eyes the size of Naruto’s entire body.  The giant reptiles slithered far too quickly through the trees, closing in on them at an uncomfortable pace.

“No choice,” Naruto growled.  There wasn’t even time to be shocked.  He leaped up and back into the canopy, letting fly a fist of shuriken as he jumped and another before he landed on a high tree branch.  Sasuke and Hinata did the same, aiming for the eyes and necks of the snakes.  One of the smaller ones hissed loudly and writhed for a moment before collapsing to the ground; the other balked and reared back with blood spurting from one eye.

“Sasuke, take that snake!  We’ll take him!” Naruto didn’t wait for a response.  He grit his teeth and thrust off of his perch towards the Grass-nin, eyes already waxing crimson.  If this shinobi was intent on killing them, and strong enough to do it, he wouldn’t hold back.  His life – no, the lives of his friends were on the line.

**_You can’t win this,_** the Kyuubi growled.  **_It’s suicide._**

_We can’t get away; it’s our only chance._

**_No,_ you _can get away.  You can use enough of my chakra to give you speed and stamina enough to escape this in one piece._**

_I’m not leaving them,_ Naruto retorted harshly, and he forced the fox’s voice quiet a moment later.  He didn’t have time for distractions.

For some reason the shinobi wasn’t even looking at Hinata and Naruto as they approached, instead choosing to watch Sasuke curiously.  The Uchiha boy was sprinting up the blinded snake’s side now, dragging his kunai into and up the length of its body until he cut cleanly through its jaw.  He flipped and spun in the air, forming rapid hand signs before letting loose a fireball that engulfed the monster’s head entirely.  The snake bucked and twitched several times before falling beside its comrade, a charred and bloodied length of scales.

Naruto and Hinata were nearly upon their target now, the wind rushing past as they lunged through the open air towards him.  The moment they leaped from the final branch, however, the last snake’s tail whipped towards them out of nowhere.  Hinata had seen it coming, though, and her hands were already pressed together.

“Fuuton: Gale Palm!”  She twisted and thrust one arm back even as the other grabbed Naruto’s wrist.  Wind erupted from her palm, propelling them at an angle away from the oncoming strike.  The tail passed within a meter of them, slamming into a tree and snapping it in two.

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” Naruto yelled as they careened off to the side.  Two clones appeared behind them, planting their feet on Naruto and Hinata’s backs and kicking off hard to alter their course towards the Grass-nin again.  The stunt worked, and in seconds the pair was atop the snake’s head and clashing with their opponent.

Whatever surprise the man might have experienced did not show on his face, though his smile did widen.  As Naruto landed the fox’s chakra cloak sprang up around him, roiling madly in his rush to bring it out.  It stabilized quickly, however, and he and Hinata engaged their adversary with every ounce of speed and ferocity they could muster . . . And the man _laughed._

Naruto could have understood if he had been fended off with ease; the shinobi in front of him was on a whole different level, after all.  But he hadn’t expected both his and Hinata’s attacks to be handled like child’s play.  They knew how to work together, and especially how to fight together.  Every strike was paired or followed smoothly by one from the other, so fast that no genin should have been able to counter them.  But this enemy ninja was avoiding every one, fluidly dodging and deflecting each strike in a graceful dance.  He was _playing_ with them, testing their strength and speed and not even attempting to retaliate.

After their initial flurry of attacks Hinata and Naruto leapt back to reassess the situation.  Naruto clenched his fists and crouched, noting in his peripheral vision that Hinata was breathing a little hard.  _Can’t you give me anything else?_ His voice sounded strained in his own mind, and the second it took the fox to respond only frustrated him more.

**_My chakra isn’t going to solve your problems, mortal, even if I could eke out any more for you.  I already gave you my advice._**   The Kyuubi went silent again, and Naruto could feel its resolution not to speak further.

“Hakke: Thirty-Two Palms!”  Naruto blinked as Hinata flashed forward to begin her technique, and it took him a second to realize what she was doing.  The Grass-nin’s eyes narrowed as the girl whirled and began the sequence, forcing him to focus seriously on his defense.  Even the strongest ninja would be rendered powerless if their tenketsu were closed.  It was this increased attention that Hinata had been counting on.  Halfway through the last set of strikes, Hinata disappeared, and Naruto was gone with her.

A cascade of fire engulfed the giant snake head that had been their battlefield, causing it to pitch and roll in agony as its scales melted inside the inferno.  The stream of heat had come from directly behind the snake, and subsequently out of sight from the foreign shinobi.  Sasuke cut off the flames after a few seconds; he was crouching upside-down on the underside of a broad tree branch.  He was breathing hard, but looked satisfied as Naruto and Hinata appeared beside him.

“Did you get him?” Naruto asked, squinting at the dying flames and plumes of acrid smoke.  The snake hit the ground a moment later with a force that shook the surrounding trees.

“We timed it perfectly,” Sasuke breathed.  “I don’t care how good he is.  I saw it hit.” Despite his conviction he kept his Sharingan focused on the smoldering corpse of the beast.  “Do you see anything, Hinata?”

“He was there when your jutsu hit,” she started nervously, her eyes wide.  “But he’s just . . . gone.  I can’t – There!”  As Hinata spoke, a crack appeared in the scales near the snake’s midsection, splintering into several more until a small area burst outward.  The Grass-nin _slithered_ out of the hole in the scales, dripping some vile substance.  When he looked up at them, they were hit again by that terrifying wave of killing intent, seeming all the more powerful for the disfigured features staring up at them.  Half of the man’s face had been melted or burned away, and a good portion of his hair was smoldering at half of its original length.

They managed to break free of the intense aura this time, but their adversary wasn’t going to wait and taunt them.  He moved with such speed that only Sasuke’s eyes could keep up, though just barely.  The man’s legs had seemingly gone limp, and they slid across the ground now in a disturbing imitation of a snake’s slithering.

“Up!” Sasuke called urgently, sprinting around to the top side of their branch.  Naruto and Hinata followed without question, circling the tree limb right behind him.  As they slid to a halt, however, the Grass-nin was already there waiting.

“Color me impressed,” the snake-man said calmly.  There was a definitive hiss to his words now, and as he continued his voice changed slowly from its more feminine quality to a light rasp.  “I had thought that Sasuke-kun might be capable, but I wasn’t informed that his teammates were of any consequence.”  They all stood staring at him for a long moment before Sasuke finally spoke, choosing his words carefully and not lowering his guard.

“How do you know who we are, and why are you interested in me?” His allies hadn’t missed the pointed remarks either.  After a furtive glance at his teammates, Sasuke ground out another sentence.  “If you want our scroll you can have it; we give up.”  The Grass-nin smirked, an expression that looked lopsided on his ruined features, before he reached up and simply _tore_ the skin away from his face.  Left behind were completely different features, serpentine in their own right with an extremely pallid complexion.

“My name is Orochimaru,” he replied, pronouncing his name slowly.  “And I wish only to test you, Sasuke-kun.  I want to see if you’re worthy.  I have no interest in this exam or your scrolls.  Only you.”  Sasuke and Naruto narrowed their eyes, but Hinata took in a sharp breath.

“H-He’s . . .” she stuttered, beginning to tremble again.  “He’s one of Konoha’s legendary Sannin . . .” It had been hard enough not to panic at how strong the ninja was already, but now that she knew _who_ he was it was almost impossible.  Hinata’s breathing quickened, and her knees nearly gave out.  It was only due to Naruto’s hand gently, yet firmly taking her own that she didn’t collapse on the spot.

“Hinata,” he said quietly, still staring hard at Orochimaru.  “I don’t care who he is.  We’re getting through this alive, and together.  I promise.”  She couldn’t help but turn her gaze to him at that, blinking rapidly as if she wasn’t sure what she was seeing.  There Naruto was, swathed in a cloak of the Kyuubi’s chakra, staring down one of the most dangerous men in the world without faltering.  If he had enough confidence for an army, she could at least muster enough for herself.

“Oh will you now?” Orochimaru droned.  “We’ll just have to see about that.”  He extended one hand, and without a single hand seal or utterance an unnaturally red flame leapt from his fingertips, roaring towards the trio.  Sasuke leapt straight over the flames towards the shinobi, gasping out breath as the fire stole the oxygen from the air.  Hinata and Naruto split to either side, sending several kunai towards their opponent before circling around and under the log out of sight.

Sasuke landed and lunged forward, his movements a blur as he began trading blows with Orochimaru.  The man deftly dodged the projectiles aimed at him, though they had expected no less.  Sasuke flipped upwards, spinning and striking down with his heel in a vicious axe-kick.  His foot was blocked on his opponent’s forearm, which he used as a fulcrum to lunge up and arch over the man’s head, thrusting another kick at him on the way down.  He caught one of Naruto’s kunai as he reached the other side, redirecting it back to its target before he even landed.  As Orochimaru lifted a hand to deflect the knife Hinata appeared before him, her palm alight with blue chakra as it thrust towards his chest.  He flipped backwards nimbly, extending an arm mid-flight and muttering quickly.  Snakes shot from his sleeve towards Hinata, but they were smashed away by an orange streak a breath later.  Naruto sliced through the creatures viciously, summoning several clones as he landed to charge again.

“Not bad,” Orochimaru smiled, “But you–” He was cut off as two fists of shuriken whirred past him, arcing around the tree trunk he had been backed against.  Nigh invisible wires snapped tight all around him, pinning him to the tree from head to toe.

“Katon: Dragon Fire!”  Again Naruto and Hinata vanished to reappear behind Sasuke as a stream of fire rushed forward along the wires, racing along them until it crashed into Orochimaru in a blinding torrent.  The heat was so intense that they had to shield their faces from it; Sasuke had used a considerable amount of chakra for the technique.  He sagged forward slightly, wincing and breathing hard.  Hinata moved quickly to support him while Naruto positioned himself in front.

“Let’s get out of here,” Naruto said quietly, turning away from the inferno.  “We need to get to the tower so we can warn them.”  He moved to take another step, but his foot froze halfway down.  Hinata and Sasuke both grunted, and when he looked up they also appeared to be unable to move.

“Good, Sasuke-kun.”  To their combined horror, Orochimaru stepped out of the flames with his right fist pressed into his left palm.  Aside from his clothing being slightly singed, he looked completely unharmed.  “I’m impressed that you’re able to use your Sharingan so well at your age; it takes considerable skill, even as an Uchiha, to manipulate shuriken like that.”  He continued forward casually, still wearing an amused smile.  “Those eyes of yours tell me that you carry more potential than Itachi, too.”  Sasuke’s eyes widened and he growled a moment later.

“How do you know my brother?!”  His voice was tight and controlled, but there was visible hatred in his red eyes.

“If you want to find out, get through this exam.  The three ninja from the sound are my subordinates; defeat them, and you’ll have proved yourself to me.  Perhaps then I will tell you.”  Orochimaru’s hands clasped into a modified tiger seal as he passed Naruto, who he thought to be paralyzed like his companions.

In a surge of fury and power Naruto pivoted and swung his fist at the man’s head, and his body ached in protest as it was forced against the technique.  Orochimaru glanced aside, annoyance flickering across his features as he broke the seal to catch the boy’s wrist effortlessly.  “I’ll admit also that you are a nuisance, keeper of the Kyuubi.  How about we quiet you down for a bit?”  He bent the fingers of his right hand and tensed.  A bright violet flame flickered to life on the tip of each finger as he concentrated, and a moment later the fox barked a warning in Naruto’s head.

**_Don’t let that hit you!_   **The Kyuubi sounded angry, as usual, but there was a definite undertone of worry there.  Whatever that technique was, it was dangerous.  But Naruto couldn’t move; he was stuck struggling against Orochimaru’s grip, his body still refusing to act against the paralysis.  The Sannin’s tongue slithered out and snaked under Naruto’s shirt, lifting the fabric from his torso to reveal an elaborate seal set in what appeared to be black ink.

“Five Element Seal!” Orochimaru snarled, thrusting his palm towards the existing seal.  Hinata cried out his name, and Sasuke ground out a curse.  But the blow never landed.  The man’s hand was held quivering, centimeters from Naruto’s flesh, grasped by a thick tendril of orange chakra that had extended from the cloak near his chest.  Orochimaru’s eyes went wide, and he visibly struggled against the chakra’s grip before springing back and ripping his arm free, allowing the sealing jutsu to fade.

“I don’t have time for this.”  Orochimaru sped through a series of hand seals before extending both arms towards Naruto.  A blast of wind hit him like a solid wall, pitching him from the tree in a howling gale.  He went spinning to crash straight through a nearby tree before being stopped by another, smashing into it with an awful crunching sound before careening towards the forest floor.  After watching his descent for a few seconds, Orochimaru nodded and turned back to Sasuke and Hinata.

“Now then,” he continued, as if he hadn’t been interrupted.  He formed the modified tiger seal again, and this time there was nothing to stop him from completing his jutsu.  His neck extended forward in a sickening, snake-like fashion, rushing towards Sasuke.  Orochimaru bared his teeth, exposing two long fangs as he reached Sasuke’s neck, plunging them into the boy’s flesh without hesitating.

Sasuke screamed, jerking back instinctively and trying to rip the man’s jaws from him.  He was released a moment later and left to fall to his knees, clawing at his neck and trying to hold in his cries of pain.  Hinata felt herself able to move again and rushed to her friend’s side, trying to keep her breathing steady enough to speak.

“W-What did you do to him?!” she demanded, trying to support Sasuke’s weight with her shoulder.

“I gave him a gift,” Orochimaru said softly.  “Just a little taste of what power could be his should he seek me out.  Sasuke-kun is an avenger; he will come to me to gain power, because I am the only one who can give it to him.”  He smiled again, a sickening gesture, and began to sink into the tree.  “That is, if he survives the night.”  Echoing, cruel laughter suffixed his statement, growing fainter and further away until they were met only with the sounds of smoldering wood and Sasuke’s groans of pain.

“Get Naruto,” Sasuke panted, trying to get a handle on his pain.  “I’ll be okay for a sec; go.”  Hinata bit her lip but nodded, laying him down gently on his back before springing from the branch.  She had been forced to watch as Naruto fell, unable to do anything to help.   Silent tears trailed behind her as she landed below, hurrying to where she could see him through the foliage.  He lay in a crumpled heap at the base of the tree he had struck, his body folded over a large root.  Hinata choked back a sob and moved quickly to him, praying that he was okay.

“Naruto-kun,” she breathed, moving him carefully to the softer ground.  She quickly placed both hands on his chest, focusing and working to find the extent of the internal damage while she checked his chakra with her Byakugan.  To her immense relief – and confusion – he had sustained only minimal injuries.  But upon inspecting his chakra she couldn’t detect the usual amount of the Kyuubi’s energy, instead only seeing flickers where there otherwise might have been constant flows.  “Naruto-kun,” she whispered urgently.  “You have to wake up; we have to move.  Please . . .” A long, difficult moment passed in silence before he finally stirred, groaning and muttering incoherently.

“Hinata . . . Wha – Orochimaru?  Sasuke . . . And . . . Orochimaru!”  Naruto sat bolt upright then, regretting it a moment later as his head exploded in pain.  He swayed to the side and threw up, coughing and sputtering for a good minute before he got ahold of himself.  His whole body ached, and everything was spinning, but at least he was conscious.  “Hinata-chan?” he asked blearily, finally focusing on his friend.  “What . . .?”

“There’s not time,” Hinata responded, and something in her voice made him try to focus harder.  “We have to go get Sasuke and find somewhere safe.  Can you move?”

“Yeah, I think so.”  With her help he staggered upright, finding his feet a few seconds later and nodding dully.  He winced.  “Let’s go; can you find some place on your own?  I don’t think I can summon any bunshin right now.”

“I can,” she said as he followed her back up into the trees.  Her bloodline was still activated, and she was on full alert.  As the only fully functional member of her team, she knew that she had to take charge for the time being.  “Help me carry Sasuke and we’ll get somewhere to hide.”

When they arrived back at the site of the last skirmish, Sasuke was unconscious.  His breathing was shallow, and from a touch Hinata could tell that a fever had taken him.  They each slipped an arm under one of his shoulders and set off quickly, Hinata scouring the distance for a secure hiding place.  All the while her mind raced, trying to work out what was happening and how they were going to get through it.  Their first priority was getting Sasuke somewhere safe to recover.  _He’s going to be fine.  He will._

Several minutes later they alighted on a high branch of an innocuous tree, in front of a small hollow.  Hinata nodded at Naruto, and they hurried inside.  It was dark and damp within the small space, but it was as ideal a place as they could have hoped for.  Dusk was falling around them, and it would be dangerous to try to move at night in their condition.

Naruto was still dazed, but he managed to gather enough dry leaves to provide makeshift bedding for inside.  The space was fairly hidden already by thick leaves all around, but just in case he cut a few branches and placed them carefully over the entrance of the alcove.  After setting up a few quick kunai traps, he slipped back into the hollow and slumped against one of the curved walls.

Hinata was leaning over Sasuke, her hands glowing a soft green.  She looked tired, and she was squinting down at him as if it was hard to see.  “I don’t know what’s wrong,” she mumbled.  “I healed his wounds, but he has three marks on his neck that won’t go away.  And he won’t wake up; his fever is getting worse, too.  And–”

“Hinata,” Naruto said quietly, shifting closer to her and Sasuke.  His head was still throbbing, but he was stable enough now to think clearly.  “Rest.  I’ll keep watch.”

“But I–” She stopped as he took her hands with his own, pulling them gently away from Sasuke.  His hands were warm, but they didn’t feel like they usually did.  Naruto’s hands felt weaker, like they were tired.  All the same, he smiled at her in his usual confident manner, barely visible in the dimness.

“C’mon Hinata, I can tell you’re reaching your limit.  Using your Byakugan so much is starting to hurt your eyes, isn’t it?”  She looked down at her lap and nodded, though she didn’t release the technique.  “I don’t want you getting hurt, and we all know I’ve got crazy amounts of stamina.  Let me stay up and watch.  I’ll wake you in a few hours to trade off, if you want.  Please?”  After a few seconds she nodded slowly, and the pronounced veins around her eyes receded.

All at once the events of the last hour seemed to catch up to her, and she found herself choking on a few sobs.  Naruto carefully lowered her down to the bed of leaves beside Sasuke, letting her use his lap as a makeshift pillow.  He shrugged out of his black coat and draped it over her quaking form, resting one hand on her shoulder and the other on her head, stroking gently at her hair until she cried herself to sleep.  He didn’t know what else he could do for her.

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu,” he whispered.  Two clones appeared nearby, making the small space feel even more cramped.  “Keep watch,” Naruto ordered, still in as quiet a voice as he could manage.  The two copies nodded and slipped outside, concealing themselves in the canopy.  He settled back against the side of the hollow, trying get his sluggish thoughts into motion to keep himself awake.

Sasuke was hurt, but none of them knew just how bad it was.  He wasn’t doing too well himself, though the Kyuubi’s chakra had taken the brunt of the impact from Orochimaru’s blow.  It had still been strong enough to tear a few muscles and cause some major bruising, not to mention the number it had done on his head.  Hinata had stretched herself thin trying to keep a constant watch with her Byakugan and taking care of both of their wounds.  Additionally, they had all spent a great deal of chakra fighting Orochimaru.  The situation looked grim.

But then, they were alive.  If it had been his goal to kill them, they would all have perished without a doubt.  He seemed intent on Sasuke, for some reason, and wanted him to finish the exam.  Either there weren’t enough pieces to put together yet, or Naruto’s head wasn’t working well enough to figure it out.  What mattered at the moment, though, was that they were together, and they were safe.  For now.

Five hours later Naruto was forced to wake Hinata; he had started to nod off regularly, and it wouldn’t be wise to have no one standing vigil.  After a muttered word to her about overusing her bloodline ability, he sighed and switched positions with her, resting his head on her lap.  She covered him with his coat, and hesitantly followed his previous example with her hands.  He was asleep almost as soon as his head was down, breathing deeply and looking entirely too peaceful for the situation they were in.  Hinata couldn’t help but smile softly down at him, running her fingers through his hair distractedly.

They had always looked out for one another – Sasuke, Naruto, and her.  When one of them was down, the other two would try to cheer the other up.  When one was tired, the others offered to take a break.  But however close they had always been, Naruto still held a special place in her heart.  He was the one that had given her strength and confidence in a time where there was none to be found.  He had always encouraged her, complimented her, comforted her; he had always just _been_ there for her, without ever asking for anything in return.

Now, though, she could at least let him rest.  It wasn’t much, but it was a small bit of kindness that she was able to give.  The night wore on, and Hinata’s thoughts turned from her friends to what was outside in the darkness.  She activated her Byakugan every two minutes, scanning quickly around before shutting it off again; it wouldn’t do to exhaust herself, but keeping watch was a necessity.

It wasn’t until dawn that Hinata spotted another team approaching their location, heading directly for their hiding place and moving with purpose.  It was the three would-be genin from the Hidden Sound: Orochimaru’s subordinates.  A moment later one of Naruto’s clones reentered, looking grave.  “We’ve got trouble.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks. I hope you enjoyed this chapter; I’ve been looking forward to writing it almost as much as I’ve been afraid to get to it. It’s hard to really do their fight with Orochimaru justice while effectively communicating just how terrifying the guy is. But I do hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> You may have noticed if you’ve been keeping up with the story before now, but I changed the way I went about writing the jyuken techniques to better match up with the rest of the jutsus. So they’ll start with “Hakke” – or in Hinata’s self-created jutsu’s case, “Shugohakke” – like the rest start with their Japanese prefixes. I also feel like it looks cleaner/reads better that way.
> 
> A thank you to Rhi for, as always, doing great beta work. And thanks as well to the rest of you who read this and other chapters. I appreciate all the favorites and follows CFKD is getting, and especially the reviews; you guys are way too nice. As always, feel free to PM me if you have any questions or comments about my writing or the fic in general.
> 
> Have a good one!
> 
> Wes


	12. Lessons Learned

Naruto’s eyes snapped open as a rush of memories hit him.  Images from one of his destroyed clones flooded into his mind, giving him a vivid depiction of three genin wearing hitai-ate emblazoned with a single music note.  The foremost had swiped at him – his clone, rather – and missed, but a second later the stream of consciousness ended with his ears ringing painfully.  He bolted upright just as the other clone entered.  Hinata was on her feet the moment his head had freed her legs to move, her expression strained.

“The Sound?” he whispered, rubbing sleep from his eyes.  Both Hinata and his remaining clone nodded.  “I’ll go take a look.  Can you stay with Sasuke?”  As expected, she looked like she wanted to protest, but he cast a worried glance at their still unconscious friend.  Sasuke was shivering and covered in sweat, and every so often his features would contort in pain.  He was muttering indecipherably between groans.  “We can’t leave him by himself in this state.”

“But . . .” Hinata struggled to come up with a logical reason she should go with him.  These were Orochimaru’s subordinates; if they were anywhere near as capable as their master, Naruto didn’t stand a chance by himself.  But leaving Sasuke alone and unguarded was not an option, either.  “Let me go instead; I got more rest than you, and you might still be injured.”  When he shook his head at her and stood up she had to struggle not to let a surge of emotion take hold of her.

“I can’t use medical ninjutsu to look after Sasuke, and besides I’ve got access to the Kyuubi’s chakra.  When it comes down to it I stand the best chance of surviving.  I’ll use the Wind Whisper jutsu or a clone to get in touch with you during or after, okay?”  Hinata still looked like she was ready to argue with him, but he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and grinned confidently.  “Hinata-chan,” he said, his tone softening.  “Remember what I said?  I promised we’d get through this together.  You don’t doubt me, do you?”  Naruto stuck out his lip at her in a fake pout.  Her own lower lip quivered and she ducked forward to hug him tightly.

“Be safe.”  It was all she could think to say.  He smiled and hugged her back, though only briefly; the Sound-nin were bound to get there soon.  When he drew back he placed a hand on each of her shoulders, looked her in the eye, and then winked.  Despite herself Hinata smiled.  Naruto turned then, slipping towards the exit.  He looked back just before leaving, whispering a final note.

“The password is ‘Miso Ichiraku ramen.’”  She blinked at him a few times before nodding slowly.  “Don’t let anybody inside unless they say that exactly, okay?”  Hinata nodded again, and he flashed her one last smile before stepping outside, leaving his clone to watch the entrance.

He was halfway to the ground when the Kyuubi’s voice echoed into his mind, sounding more annoyed than usual.  **_I’m not letting you use my chakra._**   Naruto landed a little hard on the next branch, bark splintering from where his chakra-laced feet struck.

_What?_

**_I said you can’t use it, kid.  I told you yesterday that my chakra isn’t there to solve all of your problems, and I said weeks ago that it should be used to enhance all of your abilities.  But you’ve been using it nigh exclusively to augment your taijutsu.  How far do you think you’ll get using that strategy?_ **

_Do you really have to get stubborn right now?_ Naruto growled, continuing his descent.  _I’m about to have to go against three shinobi by myself; I need all the power I can get._

 ** _No you don’t,_** the Kyuubi replied calmly.  **_What about those kids you trained with a few weeks ago?  I bet any of those three could stand a fighting chance_ without _the chakra of a tailed beast.  I bet your friends could, too.  But you?  Ever since you decided that they were surpassing you because of their doujutsu, you reasoned that my chakra was the only way to catch up._**   He waited for a moment before asking, **_Am I wrong?_**

_Well no – I mean, not completely.  But_ _–_

**_No.  Show me that you’re strong enough on your own, and then we’ll discuss how you will use my chakra._** The fox went silent then, waiting.  Naruto could tell that he was expecting an angry retort, but he didn’t have time to argue.  Perhaps the Kyuubi was right, but now was the worst time to bring it up.

 _Fine, but don’t forget that if I die here, so do you._ His only response was an echoing chuckle that faded into the background before he landed on the forest floor.  Naruto ground his teeth in frustration, but there was little he could do at this point.  And then it hit him.  _When **did** I start relying on the Kyuubi’s chakra so much?  _ It was an unnerving thought, especially considering it had only been two weeks since he had really begun training with it.  But somehow, in such a short time, his unfailing confidence had become linked with that new power.  For the first time in a very long time, he wasn’t sure of himself.  And that scared him more than Orochimaru had.

 _You’re right._ He could almost see the fox’s grin.  _I’m going to do everything I can to defeat them on my own power.  But I expect you to help if things don’t look good._ Naruto could see flickers of movement in the trees above, and he readied himself for the inevitable.

**_Afraid to die, mortal?_ **

_No, but my friends will be in danger if I can’t stop them.  If they’re hurt because you’re being stubborn, I’ll find a way to kill you myself._   He felt the Kyuubi’s surprise then, but by the time he might have gotten a response Naruto was already on the move.

Naruto flicked his kunai holster open, drawing out three knives and letting them loose into the forest followed closely by a fist of shuriken.  The three grey streaks he had been keeping track of stopped suddenly, allowing the projectiles to strike a tree trunk a few meters ahead of them.  The Sound-nin looked down him from their perch above, and after exchanging a few words they dropped to the ground several meters in front of Naruto.

“Decided to come out and play by yourself?” the foremost asked in a low, guttural voice.  He carried himself hunched over, and his face was completely covered in bandages save for his left eye.  Flanking him were two others wearing matching headbands; one was a young woman with dark hair and eyes to match, wearing a severe expression, and the other was a taller boy with a shock of black hair and a wide, almost mad smile.  All three wore matching scarves that were printed in a snakeskin pattern.

“What do you want with Sasuke?” Naruto asked bluntly, trying to appear relaxed despite his inner tension.  His response was several surprised looks, and the Sound-nin all shared a quick sidelong glance.

“Who told you that we wanted anything to do with him?” the girl asked, her eyes narrowing.

“Yeah, maybe we just want your scroll, kid.”  The taller boy said casually, flexing his fingers.  “Maybe a little bird told us you have a Scroll of Heaven.”

“If you want the scroll,” Naruto started, reaching into his back pouch.  The apparent leader of the group tensed, and the other boy had his hands extended towards Naruto in a flash; there was a small hole in the center of each palm.  When Naruto drew his hand back out of the pouch they all blinked.  “You can have it.”  Team Seven’s original Scroll of Heaven sat in his offered hand.  “If it’s what you’re after, just take it and leave us be.”

“Kin, you hear this guy?” the taller boy asked, turning to smirk at his female companion.

“Yeah, Zaku; he wants us to just take it and not have any fun.  What do you think, Dosu?”

“I think it’s interesting that he knows we want Sasuke,” the slouching youth offered, peering curiously at Naruto.  “Or more precisely speaking, that we want to kill him.”  He began to chuckle, Zaku and Kin joining in a moment later before Naruto cut them off sharply.

“Why did Orochimaru tell you to kill Sasuke?  He could have done it himself last night.”  Things still weren’t adding up, and it was only more confusing when the Sound-nin stopped and stared at him, wide-eyed.

“You know about Orochimaru?” Dosu asked cautiously; he looked almost as confused as Naruto felt.

“He attacked us last night, and he did something to Sasuke,” Naruto responded slowly, not sure of how much to tell them.  But it seemed that he was not the only one missing pieces of the puzzle.  Dosu stared hard at him for a long moment before turning to his comrades, speaking quickly.  Naruto couldn’t hear what they were discussing, but Zaku was shaking his head and looking angry; Kin seemed pensive and a little worried.

“I think it’s more important than ever that we kill Sasuke now, then.  Go up and take care of them.”  They nodded and started to move, but two kunai came flying across the clearing and they were forced to dodge instead.  Naruto hadn’t heard Dosu’s command, but he had seen them start for Hinata and Sasuke’s hiding place.

“If you want to get to them, I’m your first opponent,” he said.  The feigned calm in his tone sounded harsher than intended, and it made the Sound-nin hesitate.  Naruto sank into a balanced stance and waited for their move.  If any of them tried to go for the canopy, he would have to engage first.

“So Sasuke – and possibly your other teammate – is vulnerable, hm?” Dosu cocked his head to the side, and as far as Naruto could tell he was smiling.  “Well then, we have no need to rush to kill them.  I guess we can spare a few seconds to kill you, first.”

“You think I’ll go down that easy?” Naruto retorted, trying his hand at a mocking grin.  “Remember, we ran into your boss yesterday, and I’m still just fine.”  That made them hesitate for another moment before Zaku laughed, stretching his arms outward.

“He must have had a reason for letting you live.  Either that or you were too worthless to kill.  I’ll take him down myself in one attack; don’t interfere,” he snarled, stepping out in front of his team.  Kin and Dosu shrugged and moved to lean against the nearest tree, looking amused.  Naruto mentally thanked Zaku; even if he was strong, the hot-headed genin had just evened the odds temporarily.

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” A dozen clones appeared on either side of Naruto and charged Zaku immediately, all yelling individual battle cries.  The Sound-nin was taken off guard, but only for a moment.  Before the bunshin had covered much ground, he spread his arms to either side, palms out.

“Air Cutter!” The air around Zaku’s hands distorted as wind blasted from the holes in his palms, moving at such a high speed that the clones were tossed back and dispersed like leaves.  He brought his wrists together a moment later, both arms extended at Naruto.  “Air pressure, one hundred percent!”  The column of air that crashed into Naruto would have felt like being hit head on by a hurricane – at least, it would have if he had been struck.

Shuriken rained down on Zaku, who cursed and stumbled back as Naruto came flying down towards him.  The splintered remains of a log lay scattered on the ground all around where he had been standing a moment before.

 ** _Identify his weak points,_** the Kyuubi said calmly.  **_You’re a shinobi; at least use what Kakashi has been teaching you.  Figure out the best way to fight him, and do it._**

 _He gets angry fast, he’s cocky, and he thinks that ability can kill me by itself,_ Naruto reasoned as he landed, spinning into a series of attacks.  _Judging by the replacement, it can.  His taijutsu isn’t as good as mine; I’ll stay in close and not let him use that attack._   He got no response from the fox, but it seemed like a good plan.  As far as he could see there were no other holes on the man’s body, so as long as he avoided Zaku’s palms he’d be okay.

Zaku’s taijutsu form was decent, but it was obvious that he hadn’t put as much practice into it as Naruto had.  He was, however, about as fast as Hinata, which was troublesome on its own.  On a good day he had a hard time scoring hits on his friend, and he had to be even more careful not to get hit than if he was fighting Hinata; one palm strike and it would be over.

 _Really wish I had some help about now._ The Kyuubi’s chakra augmented his taijutsu tremendously.  He had only sparred with Sasuke once since gaining control of the single-tailed cloak, and even with all of the training with his Sharingan it had been all his friend could do to keep up.  Hinata couldn’t match his speed with the Kyuubi’s chakra, which was saying something.  But without it he was back to being slower than both of them, though he always had strength and stamina on his side.

 ** _Quit thinking so linearly._** Naruto didn’t even have time to wonder what that meant; he narrowly avoided a strike and subsequent rush of air that would have taken his arm off.  **_I’ll say it again: you’re a shinobi.  Can’t you do more than one thing at once, you idiot?_**   That made more sense, though the fox could have put it in simpler terms in the first place.

 _Jerk.  Kage Bunshin no Jutsu._ Naruto’s fingers crossed as his body twisted, hiding them and his intentions from view as he spun to dodge a kick.  As he completed the turn he leapt at Zaku, not allowing him time to destroy the clone that was now at Naruto’s side and fighting with equal ferocity.  With two attackers the Sound-nin was immediately put on the defensive, and it gave Naruto time to take the Kyuubi’s suggestion.

 _Suiton: Water Blast._ Naruto was not adept at elemental jutsu, and he was worst with water.  However, years of training with Hinata and Sasuke hadn’t been entirely focused on hand-to-hand combat.  They were much better than him at ninjutsu, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort.  That hard work had allowed him to learn a few techniques, at least.

Before Zaku could even register that his enemy’s hands were clasped in a tiger seal, the air had already lost its moisture.  Naruto’s cheeks bulged for a fraction of a second, and then he released the jutsu, letting a jet of water erupt from his mouth.  One advantage of having a massive chakra reservoir of his own was the amount of power he could put into even the simplest abilities.  Zaku was caught blocking a jab from the clone when the blast hit him low, and with such force that it threw him ten meters through the air.  He hit the tree that his teammates were idling by, just above their heads, before falling heavily to the ground.

 ** _That’s better,_** the Kyuubi grunted, and Naruto was surprised to hear a bit of approval in the fox’s tone.  **_You have many abilities; don’t put yourself in a position that forces you to use only one, especially when fighting multiple opponents.  That’s a quick way to get yourself killed._**

 _Right.  Ah, thanks._ It was clear that the Kyuubi was not accustomed to gratitude; Naruto could tell that his silence this time was touched with annoyance.  Unfortunately there was no time to tease.

Zaku groaned and lifted himself from the ground, using only one arm and holding the other close to his chest.  Dosu and Kin looked impressed, though not surprised.

“That’s what happens when you get carried away, Zaku,” Kin chastised.  “Now you got one of your arms broken for no reason.”

“Interesting; what’s your name?” Dosu asked, pulling back the sleeve from his right arm.  He wore a large metal gauntlet; it covered his entire forearm and was perforated along the back.  “We’re going to get serious now, and it would be rude to kill you before hearing your name at least.”  Naruto considered the idea; of the Sound genin he seemed to be the calmest, and his request seemed more respectful and matter-of-fact than mocking.

“Uzumaki Naruto.  And I don’t plan on losing to you.”  Naruto formed the clone seal again, summoning five more clones.  They crouched all around him, ready for the impending fight.  _Any suggestions for fighting three at once?_   The Kyuubi’s silence told him there would be no further advice offered.  He clenched his jaw and tried to focus on what the fox had already shared with him.  _Find their weaknesses, use different techniques.  None of them look cocky now, just serious._

“I am Dosu, and this is Zaku and Kin.  As you’ve been told, we’re Orochimaru’s subordinates, and under orders to assassinate Uchiha Sasuke.  Although . . .” He shook his head and clenched his fist a few times, then dropped into a standard taijutsu stance.  Kin drew out several long senbon, half of which had a bell tied to the end.  Zaku extended his good hand and stared daggers.  “We’ll figure that out later.”  Without another word Dosu leapt forward.

Everything happened too fast for Naruto to register completely, and his body moved on instinct.  A single burst of wind from Zaku forced him to dodge to his left.  His eyes flicked to Kin, whose arm was just fully extending as she let loose several needles.  He altered his sideways jump into a roll, narrowly avoiding the senbon and coming up in time to deflect Dosu’s swipe.  After the initial flurry of attacks his clones engaged Kin and Zaku, doing their best to keep their focus so that Naruto could deal with their leader.

An instant after turning Dosu’s blow aside he knew something was wrong.  The world started spinning and he staggered back; it was all he could do not to fall over.  The ear closest to the avoided punch was ringing and in a piercing pain.  There was an inexplicable trickle of blood flowing down his neck on the same side.  Naruto jumped back out of range, looking up wildly at his adversary with one eye tightly closed.

 _Calm down,_ he thought, trying not to jump to conclusions.  _Ear’s bleeding, I’m dizzy, but he didn’t hit me._ It was difficult to go through the thought process rapidly; Dosu wasn’t likely to give him more than an instant’s leeway.  But it wasn’t difficult for Naruto to pick out the likely cause.  _Okay, he’s a close range fighter.  Stay away from the glove._   He could feel the Kyuubi nod, and he almost grinned despite the nausea creeping inside of him.

Dosu came again, but this time Naruto kept his distance.  He wasn’t sure how far away the ability might affect him from, but he made sure to keep a few meters between them.  He summoned more clones to engage for him, but every one that got close collapsed and went up in a cloud of smoke.  **_Sound, kid, it’s sound.  Why do you think your damned ear is bleeding?_**

 _I figured that out, thanks, but how do I fight against sound?_ Naruto responded angrily, rebounding off of a tree to stay out of Dosu’s reach.

 ** _Find something to stick in your ears; rubber would be best._**   When all he received was a confused silence he growled, annoyed again.  **_Either fight him using ninjutsu or put something in your ears.  Now._**

Naruto decided to try both.  He began molding the chakra as he jumped back from another blow, this one closer and causing him to wince in pain.  _Fuuton: Gale Palm!_   He thrust out his right hand, creating a gust of air with several times the force of the one Hinata had made the night before.  Whereas she had molded the right amount of chakra for the task, he merely threw his proverbial muscle behind the technique.  The wind hit Dosu in a gust several seconds long, and though he had braced himself he was still pushed back several meters.  But Naruto’s intent had only been to gain those few seconds.

A kunai was in his hand almost as soon as the jutsu was released, and he bent forward to cut two rounded gouges into the rubber sole of his left tabi.  It took several seconds, and he was forced to use a replacement in order to avoid a few senbon from Kin.  The technique took him to an overhanging branch, where he hurriedly shoved the dirty pieces of rubber into his ears as far as he could.  It hurt, but a moment later the world went quiet; only the sound of his racing heart and quickened breathing invaded the silence.

He dove towards Dosu now, ready to go on the offensive.  Mid-flight he threw several kunai towards Kin and Zaku, both of whom were only contending with a single clone each now.  One of the weapons took Kin in the leg and she stumbled, allowing his clone to strike a vicious upper-cut into her jaw.  Zaku jumped back nimbly, activating his Air Cutter to reroute the kunai into the bunshin he was fighting.

Dosu met Naruto with a hard hook, which the blond blocked out towards his undamaged ear.  To Dosu’s surprise, Naruto appeared to be unharmed. With a smirk he twisted and drove his heel into the Sound-nin’s chest, feeling a satisfying crack as the other boy careened away.  Unfortunately for Naruto, he hadn’t heard the shout from Zaku due to his ear protection.

“Maximum Air Cutter!” While he was spared the worst of the supersonic effects of the technique, Naruto was finally caught by Zaku’s ability.  It didn’t have the same force that Orochimaru’s technique had, but it still hit like a solid wall and sent him smashing into a tree for the second time in twenty-four hours.  Naruto grunted as he hit the ground, struggling to reorient himself.  His earplugs had been blasted away by the wind, causing the sounds of battle to return painfully.  And then he heard bells.

When Naruto picked himself up and cast around for his adversaries, they were . . . Everywhere.  Twenty Dosus were flanked by a score of Kins, with as many Zakus just behind them.  They shimmered in a way that made Naruto dizzy, and he fell to one knee.  He threw several shuriken at the group, but they passed right through.  His head was starting to spin, and all he could hear now was the tinkling of bells.

“Good combo,” Dosu grunted from somewhere within the copies.  All of them were standing a bit stiffly, left arm clutched to their side where Naruto’s kick had landed.  Twenty Zakus smirked and pointed their palms at their disabled enemy.  Kin – all of her – looked to be gripping something that Naruto couldn’t see, but she also seemed to be grinning mischievously.  The Dosus all stepped forward, a motion that almost made Naruto throw up.  His head was spinning; every movement any of them made only exacerbated the incapacitating nausea.  Still all he could hear were bells ringing.

And then the feeling vanished as quickly as it had come.  Dosu and Zaku let out curses at the same time, leaping back from Kin.  The young woman was standing, her arms extended, smiling sweetly at her companions.  Several senbon stuck out of the two male Sound-nin’s backs, blood dripping from their tips.  A few of them had bells attached, too; they could only have been thrown by Kin.

 ** _Get up, you idiot,_** the Kyuubi barked, startling Naruto to his feet.  His ear was still bleeding, and though his vision was clearing everything was still a bit hazy.  He looked blearily from Kin to Zaku, then he blinked at Dosu.  The older boy was quavering, eyes wide, and his muscles were straining as if working against an invisible force.  Zaku looked wholly confused and panicked, moving his arm quickly from one of his allies to the other.

“Zaku, I can’t move,” Dosu growled, eyes flickering down.  Kin smirked and cast a few more senbon at Zaku, who cursed again and dodged behind a tree.  He came flying back out a moment later, tumbling several times on the ground before coming to a stunned halt.

“Shikamaru, Chouji; you can come out now!” Kin called gleefully.  Naruto looked about as confused as Zaku had until Chouji stepped out from behind a tree, the same one Zaku had attempted to hide behind.  Shikamaru stood slowly from the bushes on Naruto’s right side, his hands held in the rat seal.

“Oy, Naruto,” Shikamaru said calmly, keeping his eyes fixed on Dosu.  “You sure got into a troublesome situation.”

“Shikamaru,” Naruto started slowly, shaking his head in a vain attempt to clear it of fuzziness.  All it succeeded in doing was making his headache worse.  “Chouji, and . . . Ino?”  He looked curiously at Kin, who grinned wider and nodded.

“Formation Ino-Shika-Chou success!” she shouted triumphantly.  Shikamaru gave her an annoyed look, and Chouji looked like he wanted to go back behind the tree.  “Now then,” Ino continued, still inside of Kin’s body.  “Only one left!”  She lifted a kunai to her own throat and stared at Zaku, who was just rolling to his feet from Chouji’s blow.  “Surrender, both of you, or I’ll kill your teammate.”  Zaku seemed to consider that for a moment, then twisted and threw his hand towards Shikamaru.

The blast of wind wasn’t a strong one, but it was enough to throw Shikamaru off balance and negate his technique.  He swore as Dosu charged him, free of the confines of the shadow.

“Don’t get close!” Naruto yelled, leaping towards Zaku.  The small area erupted into chaos again as the two pairs engaged, but it was clear that Shikamaru was outclassed by his adversary.  Chouji, despite looking as if he wanted nothing more than to flee, charged towards Dosu as well, his right fist expanding to the size of the rest of his body.  Kin, still possessed by Ino’s technique, just stood there dumbfounded, still holding the knife to her own neck.

Even with a few broken ribs Dosu was a formidable opponent.  Shikamaru tried to keep his distance as Naruto had advised, but the Sound-nin was fast.  Only Chouji’s wild, sweeping punches kept him away, though with every attack Dosu got closer.  When Shikamaru made an unfortunate misstep and stumbled backwards, he was struck with a hard backhand across the right side of his face.  Added to the explosion of pain in his skull was a dizzying effect that made his vision blur, and his ear felt like it had been ripped off.  Shikamaru cried out and toppled to the ground, writhing for a moment as he clutched his bleeding ear before going still.

With only one arm Zaku was on the defensive against Naruto, forced to dodge back the majority of the time and never risk throwing punches.  But the blond had prioritized his taijutsu training in his youth, and it was a skill that Zaku clearly lacked.  In short order Naruto had him unconscious, the result of a feinted straight kick that had turned into a vicious hook in the blink of an eye.  As he pivoted to face Dosu, though, the Sound shinobi was delivering a devastating gauntleted punch to Chouji’s torso, sending the rotund genin spinning off into the woods.

Naruto was tired.  Even his chakra wasn’t unlimited, and he had already summoned plenty of clones on top of using several techniques with too much chakra added in.   He had also been keeping a constant flow of chakra to his limbs to increase his speed and strength.  With all of that – on top of inadequate rest and being beaten down already – his breath was understandably ragged.  As Dosu turned towards him and Kin, he felt a very real flash of fear.

_Now would be the time; I don’t have much left on my own._

**_You’ll be fine._**   Naruto blinked and felt a surge of anger at the Kyuubi, but he heard a sigh and the fox continued.  **_Can’t you feel that?_**   It took a second to concentrate, but when Naruto did feel it he balked and took a step back.

_That’s . . . Orochimaru’s chakra.  But it’s coming from_ _–”_

**_Up there, yes.  More specifically, from the Uchiha boy._**   **_He probably woke up._**

And then the tree next to Naruto groaned, letting out several thunderous cracks.  Without having to check he knew it was the one that they had hidden in, and somehow the massive structure was splintering from the inside.  Dosu, Kin, and Naruto turned to stare at the tree as a flash of dark purple light erupted from above, a solid streak of dark chakra slicing down the length of the trunk all the way to the forest floor.  With a tremendous groan and another loud snap the wood splintered, and the giant structure began to fall to either side, cut cleanly in two.  As the two halves hit the ground with earth-shaking force, two figures appeared at the base of the trunk, one of which was swathed in a spiral of indigo chakra.

Sasuke stood there, his crimson eyes hard on Dosu.  His right fist was flexing steadily, clenching and unclenching.  Hinata hung under his other arm, like he had simply picked her up about the waist and carried her without effort.  Her eyes were wide and terrified, but she appeared unharmed.  She was staring at what she could see of Sasuke, and it took Naruto only a breath to understand why.  The left side of Sasuke’s body was coated with black marks that resembled flames, like somebody had tattooed them across his body.  They burned golden for a moment, visibly spreading across his face and presumably the rest of his body.

“Hinata wouldn’t let me out,” he said in a deadly calm tone, not turning to look at Naruto.  “So I made another way out.”  Sasuke glanced at him now, eyes burning with malice.  “Which one of them did that to you?”  As he spoke he lowered Hinata down until her feet touched the ground, helping her straighten before he turned back to Dosu.  “That one?”

“Sasuke, you’re alright,” Naruto panted.  But the joy at of his friend’s recovery was significantly dampened by the malicious chakra flowing about him.  It _was_ Orochimaru’s, or at least something tainted by it.  It felt . . . wrong.  “What’s wrong with–”

“I asked who did that,” Sasuke interrupted harshly.  Hinata backed away; a trickle of blood made its way down to her chin from biting her lower lip so hard.  Naruto looked concernedly towards her for a second before straightening.

“Sasuke, calm down; I’m alright.  I don’t know what that is, but you need to stop it.  Can’t you feel that?”

Sasuke could feel it.  It felt simultaneously incredible and terrible, exhilarating and terrifying.  There was power surging through him, strength like he had never known, but it was marred by a feeling of dread and filth.  While he had slept Sasuke had been submitted to the scenes of his past, of his parents’ dead bodies and of Itachi torturing him with the Mangekyo Sharingan.  It had played over and over until he couldn’t take it any longer.  In his dream state Sasuke had killed his brother; he had savagely murdered him and gotten his revenge.  It had felt _good._   The power was trying to remind him of his purpose, the reason he was still alive.  _To avenge my clan._

But Naruto was right.  Sasuke could see the look on Hinata’s face; she was stricken with terror at the very sight of him.  The chakra was twisting his mind, and he knew it, but it was so hard to resist.

Dosu looked almost as frightened as Hinata.  His hand was shaking as he reached behind his belt and knelt quickly, laying a Scroll of Earth on the ground before him.  “It’s clear that we won’t be able to complete our mission,” he said slowly, sounding calm despite himself.  “It seems that Orochimaru did something on his own without telling us.  If you will let us go, I’ll give you this scroll and promise you no harm for the remainder of this second exam.”

“You expect me to let you leave after what you’ve done?” Sasuke snapped, striding forward.  Even though he knew that letting Dosu go was the best thing to do, that his allies needed help, he couldn’t stop himself.  An intense desire to kill had taken hold of him, and it was aimed solely at the Sound-nin before him.  The black marks glowed again and spread further across his features, and without his knowledge a maddened grin had quirked the corners of his lips upward.  “I’m going to make you beg me for your life.”

“Sasuke!” Naruto’s yell accompanied a dark blur that appeared in front of him, blocking his path to Dosu.  “Snap out of it!  This isn’t you at all, and you know it!”  A mixture of guilt and annoyance took hold of Sasuke, and before he could stop himself his fist had shot towards his friend’s jaw.

Naruto had underestimated the blow, but the Kyuubi’s chakra had come when he called for it.  He caught Sasuke’s fist in his hand, and the force of it pushed him back a few centimeters.  Even with the fox’s cloak up, Sasuke’s punch could have easily broken his jaw.  As it was his palm burned and his knuckles cracked from the chakra-laced blow, but he held fast, staring hard into his friend’s eyes.  They stood like that for a long moment, meeting gazes without blinking.  Naruto tightened his grip on Sasuke’s fist, but he didn’t push back.

“Sasuke,” he said in a softer, quiet voice.  “I don’t know what happened to you, but you’re stronger than this.  The Sasuke I know wouldn’t just kill somebody like that, and he’d never think of torturing anybody.  He’s given up; let him go.”  Naruto reached out and placed his other hand on his friend’s shoulder, slowly allowing the Kyuubi’s chakra to fade.  As his eyes returned to blue, he smirked very slightly.  “C’mon jerk.  Get back to normal already.”

It felt like an eternity to Sasuke, but after a long and painful moment he sighed, then forced the power away.  It was difficult on more than one level; not only was the opposing chakra strong, but it was tempting as well.  It was so much power, right at his fingertips, but he had to refuse and push it back.  The marks receded gradually, fading into clear skin again until the only ones left were a trio of tomoe, set in a circle on the back of his neck.

Sasuke fell backwards, slumping onto the ground and breathing hard.  Naruto let out a sigh of relief, though he turned to Dosu warily.  The Sound-nin was already next to Zaku, lifting the unconscious boy to his shoulder before looking carefully from Naruto to Kin.

“Ino,” Naruto called over his shoulder, “You can release her now.  They’re leaving.”  Kin nodded, and raised her hands into a modified ox seal before her body collapsed limply to the ground.  Naruto waited a moment, then nodded to Dosu, who hurried to her and lifted her with his other arm.

“Thank you,” he said simply, turning to regard Sasuke and Naruto.  “If we encounter one another in the next exam, I promise that we will not run or hide.  But for now we must live; there is something I have to find out.”  With that he turned, disappearing into the thick woods without a sound.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Naruto slumped down to sit next to Sasuke, breathing hard.  Ino ran out of the woods to Shikamaru, and Hinata rushed to her friends a moment later.

“Naruto-kun,” she started in a hurried whisper, kneeling next to him and placing a hand gingerly on the side of his head.  “Why didn’t you use the Kyuubi’s chakra like you said?  You’re hurt now and . . .” Hinata trailed off when he shook his head, lifting his hand to tug her wrist down.

“He wouldn’t let me; he wanted to teach me a lesson.” Even Sasuke managed a grunt at that, though Hinata looked distressed.  Naruto shook his head again.  “He was right, though.  I can’t just rely on his chakra to get stronger.  But I’m fine, Hinata-chan.  Can you go look after Chouji and Shikamaru?” She bit her lip again, but nodded and ran into the trees where Chouji had been thrown.  Naruto wondered for a second how she knew where he was, then rolled his eyes at his own ignorance.  _She was watching the whole thing._

“Thanks,” Sasuke rasped quietly.  Naruto glanced at his friend, noting that he was still holding a hand to the mark on his neck.  He frowned, but nodded at Sasuke, waiting for him to continue.  “I . . . I need to talk to you both after this test, and Kakashi-sensei, too.” He was staring at the ground, his Sharingan still active despite how exhausted he must have been.  There was something different about him, beyond the external mark of the seal.

“Sasuke, what happened to you?” The question was offered lightly enough, but it made Sasuke flinch.

“I’m not sure, but . . .” He shook his head, struggling to push himself up.  “I’ll talk to you about it later.  Now that we have the other scroll, we have to get to the tower.  It’s dangerous to stay out here any longer than we have to.”  Naruto couldn’t argue with that, even if he was worried about his friend.  He stood slowly, offering a hand to Sasuke.  As he reached to grab Naruto’s wrist, a lance of pain shot through his neck and down his spine.  He grunted and gripped hard, wincing as he pulled himself up with Naruto’s help.

Hinata came back a few seconds later with Chouji hauled over one shoulder.  Due to the boy’s girth she was hunched over and seemed to be struggling a little.  She was grateful when Naruto hurried over to help, and together they eased him down next to Shikamaru and Ino.

“I can’t tell how badly he’s hurt,” Ino fretted.  “That guy did something to his head, and he won’t wake up.”

“May I take a look?” Hinata asked hesitantly, sounding as if she didn’t want to offend the other girl.  Ino flashed her a haughty look that softened almost immediately, and she quickly moved from Shikamaru’s side to allow Hinata space.  The brunette knelt beside Shikamaru and placed a hand on either side of his head, closing her eyes as her palms began to glow green.  Ino’s eyes widened at that, but she said nothing.  After a few tense moments Hinata let out a breath, turning a tired smile up towards Ino.  “He’s alright; his eardrum ruptured, though.  I repaired the damage, but the sound waves plus the blow to his head might keep him unconscious for a while.”

“Don’t have time to be unconscious; that would be troublesome,” Shikamaru groaned, causing Hinata to jump.  He didn’t move, and he kept his eyes closed, but continued to speak slowly and more strongly with every word.  “Those holes on his arm guard . . . They emit sound waves.  They were strong enough to shock the semicircular canals in my inner ear, which threw me off balance and got my head spinning.  I didn’t have a chance of staying conscious with that and being hit by a giant metal glove.”  He groaned again, but finally opened his eyes blearily.  “How’s Chouji?”

“He’s fine,” Hinata said quickly, glancing at the large boy.  “He only had a bruise on his chest and the back of his head; I think he hit a tree and got knocked out, too.  I fixed the bruises, but I’m surprised that none of his bones broke.”

“That’s our Chouji,” Ino said proudly.  “Don’t tell him I told you, but he’s got a lot of ‘insulation’, if you know what I mean.  He always says he’s just big boned, though.”  Though he remained unconscious, a vein bulged on Chouji’s forehead and his face contorted slightly.  Ino blanched and scooted back quickly.

“Thank you,” Naruto stated seriously, looking towards Shikamaru and Ino.  “If you guys hadn’t arrived when you did, I might have been done for.”

 ** _Like I would have let that happen,_ ** the Kyuubi scoffed.  **_Those Sound-nin were weaklings; you could have taken them easily with my chakra.  But,_** he continued, and Naruto could feel the smug smirk in his tone, **_You didn’t do half bad without it, kid.  You need to train harder, though._**   Naruto ignored his backhanded compliment; there were more important things to take care of.

“Hey, we’re all Konoha genin,” Shikamaru sighed, sitting up slowly and wincing.  “It’s troublesome, but I know you’d have done the same for us.”  Naruto grinned at him then, and he returned it with a smirk of his own.

“Yeah, too bad they didn’t have the scroll we need though,” Ino complained.  Sasuke had drifted over during the conversation, and he was holding the Scroll of Earth that the Sound had left behind.  Ino scowled at it, but quickly changed her expression when she realized Sasuke was the one holding it.  “But ah – Do you guys need that one?”

“Yes,” Hinata said quietly.  Naruto glanced at her, and she was looking pointedly at him.  He didn’t have to ask what she was thinking.  He nodded and winked at her, and she offered a small smile in return.  “But we have a spare Scroll of Heaven that we can give you, in exchange for helping us.”

“A spare?” Shikamaru asked dubiously.  “You all defeated another team already?”  Hinata nodded and reached into her back belt pouch, withdrawing the white scroll they had taken the day before.

“Yeah; you’d be surprised at some of the teams in this exam,” Sasuke muttered.  “It’s like their senseis don’t care if they die.”

“Well, we can’t take the scroll; it wouldn’t be right,” Shikamaru started, his brow still furrowed against the pain in his head.  “If there are more teams that weak, there’s no reason we sh–”

“Of course we’ll take it!” Ino cut in, glaring at Shikamaru.  “We fought those Sound-nin too; it’s not like we didn’t earn it.  Right, Sasuke-kun?” She batted her eyelashes at him several times, but Sasuke only looked blankly at her.  Naruto scratched his head, wondering why she was asking somebody who hadn’t been present for Team Ten’s contribution.

“We’re heading straight to the tower from here,” Naruto said, wincing as he stretched.  Hinata came over to him quickly and tugged on one of his sleeves, giving him one of her rare no-nonsense looks.  He smirked and raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture, sinking to the ground to sit cross-legged while she began healing his injuries.  “Anyway, I think it would be best for both of us if you took the other scroll.  That way we can head there together, right?  Since we have no reason to fight one another we can just work together now.”  Shikamaru considered that, then shrugged.

“That’s a valid point.  Plus it’s likely that there will be teams hiding near the tower to pick off other teams looking to get there.  From the map that Anko showed us, assuming it was accurate, it looked like there was an open space between the woods and the tower.  That perimeter is an ideal place to set traps.”  Naruto blinked at Shikamaru, and then nodded slowly.  He hadn’t considered that.  It was potentially more dangerous within the last few hundred meters to the tower than in the rest of the forest combined.

“Great!” Ino leapt up and held out her hand expectantly.  Naruto raised an eyebrow, but glanced up at Hinata.  She reached forward and gingerly placed the Scroll of Heaven in the other girl’s palm.  Ino beamed and did a little dance in place.  “Yes!  We passed!  Chouji, it’s time to wake up.”  She started prattling at her unconscious teammate while Hinata finished tending to Naruto’s head.  When she moved to start checking the rest of him for bruises, he noticed that the corners of her eyes were glistening.

“Are you alright?” he asked quietly; only Sasuke might have been able to hear for how softly he spoke.  Hinata nodded stiffly and tugged his sleeve again, beckoning him to his feet.  As he stood she pressed her hands to his chest, and she winced when he tensed up.

“What kind of lesson was worth you getting hurt so badly?” she asked after a moment, her voice tight.  The pain of his bruises was fading quickly thanks to her medical ninjutsu, but Zaku’s Air Cutter had done a number on his right side, and the subsequent impact with the tree had left a lot more bruised.  The spikes of discomfort near his ribs indicated that there had been plenty of minor fractures, too.

“I’m not hurt that bad, Hinata-chan,” he said with an encouraging smile.  “And he would have helped if I was really in trouble; he doesn’t want to die, either.  Besides,” he continued, his expression sobering a bit.  “I did learn the lesson, I think.”  Sasuke had been pretending not to listen, but nodded at his friend’s admission.  Hinata said nothing, but a surge of emerald chakra near his sternum told him that she wasn’t convinced.

Chouji woke up just before Hinata finished her healing.  Ino had been watching her with a mixture of curiosity and disbelief, though when Naruto glanced at her she quickly returned to chattering at Shikamaru about what she was planning to do once they got to the tower.  While her teammate was groggily returning to consciousness she made sure to berate him as well for being beaten ‘so easily’.

Hinata sighed and stepped back from Naruto, looking even more tired than she had the night before.  Naruto knew that healing so many people in such a short period of time was draining on her, but he hadn’t realized just much strain it was until Hinata wavered precariously on her feet.  He stepped forward quickly and caught her before she fell, slipping an arm under her shoulder to support her weight.

“You can release your Byakugan,” he said with no small amount of concern.  “We’ve got friends to help us now, and you’ve already used too much chakra.”  Hinata started to shake her head at him, but the look he gave her changed her mind.  She flushed lightly and nodded instead, and the visible veins around her eyes receded.  He turned towards Team Ten, who were all just getting to their feet with Shikamaru and Ino helping Chouji.  “You all ready to go?”

“As ready as we can be,” Shikamaru shrugged, sounding a little annoyed.  “I wish we had some time to recover, but I know that we don’t.”

“If we get to the tower before midday, we’ll have over three days to rest while the others finish.”  Sasuke’s breathing was almost back to normal, but he was exhausted, and every so often a surge of pain shot down through the back of his neck.  “Let’s just go slow and be careful.”  Naruto nodded at his friend, then at their allies.  And then he picked Hinata up.

His supporting arm slid down to brace her upper back while he swept down with his right, catching her legs behind the knees and lifting her from the ground and into his arms.  She let out a tiny squeak and turned a brilliant shade of red despite her fatigue; Hinata was never too tired to blush.

“N-Naruto-kun, I can walk!” she insisted, though it was a half-hearted assurance.  In reality she _had_ used too much chakra.  After the previous day against Orochimaru, not getting enough rest, and healing four people throughout, Hinata wanted nothing more than to rest.  She wasn’t very adept at medical ninjutsu yet, so a lot of chakra was wasted in the process.

“I know you can, but I want to carry you.  You’re tired,” Naruto said cheerily.  Hinata blinked at him, then lowered her gaze and nodded, trying her best not to deepen the blush.  “Plus I’m all better now, so don’t worry about me.”  Sasuke rolled his eyes, but couldn’t suppress a small smirk.

“Alright you two, no flirting until we get to the tower.”  Naruto blinked at him curiously, then grinned sheepishly and reddened.  Sasuke couldn’t see Hinata’s face from where he stood, but he could only imagine her expression.  “I’ll take point.  Team Ten should travel together in the middle, and Naruto will bring up the rear with Hinata.  Do any of you know how far from the tower we are?  We got a little disoriented last night.”

“Four and a half kilometers, north by northwest.”  They all turned to look at Shikamaru, who scowled under their collective stares.  “What?  You all saw the map too.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think any of us know exactly where the tower is from here.  I know it’s that way some distance,” Sasuke said, waving a hand towards the northwest, “But that’s some sense of direction and awareness you’ve got.”  Shikamaru just shrugged; Sasuke did the same, then turned a little further north than where he had waved.  “Anyway, let’s get going.  Even moving slowly we should be able to get there in twenty minutes.”  Ino, Shikamaru, and the still woozy Chouji nodded along with Naruto and Hinata.

Naruto took up position a few meters behind Team Ten as they jumped into the trees, taking care not to jostle Hinata as he moved.  She was doing her best to stay very still, arms folded over her chest and gripping hard at her sleeves.  A few minutes passed before Naruto glanced down, blinking several times before smiling and squeezing her arm.

“You can relax, Hinata-chan; we’re almost there.”  She jumped when he said her name, as if he had startled her out of a reverie.

“It’s not . . . It’s not that.  I’m just not . . . used to being carried,” she mumbled, starting to turn red all over again.

“But I’ve carried you to bed plenty of times,” Naruto pointed out, furrowing his brow slightly.  Hinata flushed fully and ducked her head again.

“That was different; I was asleep, and you told me after the fact.”

“Oh, well,” he started, looking abashed.  “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.  I wanted to let you rest a little.”

“I’m not uncomfortable,” she said quickly.  “But what about you?  Even you have to be tired after using so much chakra.”  Hinata, as always, was more concerned with her friends’ wellbeing than with her own.  Naruto shook his head wearily, an acknowledgement in and of itself.

“I am, but I’ll be okay.  Sasuke always says that I’ve got enough chakra for the whole team, anyway.”  He grinned and she couldn’t help but give him a small smile back.  Hinata closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder, relaxing in the comfort of his arms.  She was sleeping lightly within seconds.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Sasuke held out an arm as he landed on the ground, signaling for a silent halt.  The procession came to a stop behind him, looking around warily.  Chouji was moving on his own power again, though he was still looking a little pale.

“What’s–“ Ino began, but Shikamaru had his hand over her mouth before she could go any further.  She glared at him, but the boy put a finger to his lips in a hushing motion before lowering his hand again.  He returned his gaze to Sasuke, looking serious.  The Uchiha raised one hand, holding up three fingers, then pointed two into the dense woods in front of them.  He then glanced back at Naruto, who was still holding Hinata’s slumbering form.  Sasuke rolled his eyes and pointed at Hinata, then tapped near his eyes.  Naruto nodded.

He knelt down and gently lowered her to the ground, still holding her back and head steady.  He tapped her shoulder twice with his free hand, and her eyes fluttered open.  She seemed confused at first, then flushed when she realized how she was being held.  Her lips parted to speak but Naruto quickly pressed a finger to them, shaking his head and nodding to the woods.  He mouthed ‘Byakugan’, and Hinata nodded slowly.

 _Byakugan._   As her enhanced eyes adjusted she sat up, turning towards the rest of the group and peering past them into the woods.  To her surprise, she could see the tower only two hundred meters away, but she could also see plenty of other things.  At least six motionless bodies lay scattered in the woods around her, with innumerable shuriken and kunai riddling the areas around them.  There was also a fairly advanced genjutsu affecting the area directly ahead of them, and three more genin – all alive but hidden – up ahead and a little off to their left.  Each of them wore what looked like a gas mask, and their hitai-ate suggested their affiliation with the Hidden Rain.

Hinata quickly ran through several hand seals, then blew gently at the air in front of her as if she were planting a kiss in the empty space.  _Fuuton: Wind Whisper._   All of Team Ten glanced around, looking startled when Hinata’s voice came clearly to them.  “There’s an elaborate genjutsu just ahead, and three genin from the Rain about a hundred meters northwest.  I think they’ve been waiting here and . . . killing anyone that got near.  It looks like two teams are down.”  Naruto and Sasuke nodded, and once the rest had figured out what was going on they did as well.

“I’ll take care of them,” Sasuke whispered after running through the required seals.  Naruto had executed the jutsu as well, and he shook his head before speaking.

“You’re still low on chakra too, Sasuke; I’ll go.”  He carefully cut off Team Ten from the next part of his communication, covering his lips as well just in case.  “I’m worried about that mark on you, and I can tell you’re in pain.  The Kyuubi will let me use his chakra this time, so don’t worry about it.”  After a second of consideration he turned to his own thoughts.  _Right?_

**_Might as well; they’re weak anyway.  Just don’t make it a habit._ **

_Yeah, yeah, you told me enough times already.  I just want to get to the tower as quickly as possible so we can rest._   The fox didn’t respond, but Naruto thought he could sense a small amount of understanding.  It could have been his imagination, though.

Hinata looked worriedly to him, but Naruto leaned down and squeezed her shoulder, winked, and stepped ahead of the group.  “Lead me to them, and let me know when to dispel the genjutsu,” he said back to Hinata, still using the Wind Whisper technique.  She nodded to him as he looked back, and then he disappeared into the woods.

Naruto maneuvered silently through the trees, ever cautious of traps or ambushes.  With Hinata watching his back, though, it wasn’t much of a worry.  The downside of their communication method was that the Wind Whisper jutsu distorted and delayed sound the further away they were; it was a kink they had yet to work out.  When Hinata’s voice reached him it sounded frail, but clear, and it was likely a few seconds old.

“You’re inside it now.”  He stopped as soon as he heard her, bringing his hands together in a tiger seal.  _Kai._   The forest churned for a long moment, some sections dissolving while others seemed to spiral across his vision from one place to another.  It was a dizzying effect, and nearly nausea inducing, but once it was finished Naruto was looking at a very different scene, even though it was still just dark and empty forest.

“It’s dispelled; thanks, Hinata-chan.”

“The three genin are in a tree thirty meters ahead.  Forward about twenty, and ten meters at your eleven o’clock.”

“Got it.”  Naruto took in a deep breath and focused then.  It was a little more difficult than normal, but in short order the orange chakra was coating his limbs and his eyes flickered red.  He glanced behind himself and raised an eyebrow.  _No tail?_

 ** _You don’t need it,_** the demon fox replied calmly, **_And you’re too worn out to handle the rest.  You just haven’t realized it yet._**   Naruto considered that and nodded; if the Kyuubi said that his chakra was so depleted, it probably was.

It turned out that the three shinobi from the Hidden Rain were not used to being ambushed.  Rather than approach quietly, Naruto simply used his increased speed to follow Hinata’s directions and simply appear behind the trio.  He had a feeling that if one of them was a genjutsu specialist, he or another member of the team might be a sensory type as well.  Naruto didn’t want to take any chances on being spotted before he got close enough to attack.

The first two Rain-nin toppled out of the tree, unconscious after a pair of chakra enhanced blows to the backs of their heads.  The third was a bit quicker on the uptake, rolling away to avoid an axe kick that would have landed him beside his allies.  He let out a curse and leapt back from the tree branch he had been found on, hands flying through seals.  A few clones congealed out of a thick, black liquid that appeared in the air around him, and a moment later he was sending several kunai flying towards Naruto.

The partially formed clones fell to the forest floor in piles of sludge, hitting the ground as their summoner’s kunai struck the tree.  Naruto had vanished and appeared behind him in the blink of an eye, spinning and catching the back of his neck with a simple round kick.  It may have been a simple strike, but it had enough force behind it to nearly break the genin’s spine.  Luckily his body merely snapped back before falling heavily to the ground not far from his comrades.

“Done,” Naruto said a moment later as he landed, checking quickly to make sure the other two were still unconscious.  He leaned down to place two fingers on the last one, letting out a relieved sigh when he found a pulse.  “You can move up now, if it’s still clear.”  He quickly released the Kyuubi’s chakra, not wanting any unnecessary questions from the others.

A few seconds later they all dropped to the forest floor from above, glancing around warily.  Sasuke was supporting Hinata, though she seemed to be doing a little better than before.  Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino stared wide-eyed at the downed genin, then at Naruto.  The blond boy shrugged and laced his fingers behind his head, grinning broadly.

“I’m starting to think that Asuma-sensei may have been overconfident in us,” Ino said weakly.  Chouji nodded rapidly several times before reaching into his back pouch and withdrawing a piece of cake, of all things.  He started into it like someone who hadn’t eaten in days.  Sasuke ignored them and went to search the downed Rain-nin, leaving Hinata to lean on Naruto.

“I just caught them by surprise, thanks to Hinata-chan,” Naruto said, rolling his shoulders again before slipping his arm around her waist to help support her.  “They definitely weren’t close-range fighters, either.”  Shikamaru’s eyes narrowed, and he was studying Naruto’s expression carefully.  It made him feel a little uneasy.  Thankfully Sasuke distracted them by dropping three Scrolls of Earth on the ground between them.

“These are the ones they had,” he said wryly.  “Looks like they were just unlucky.”

“What should we do with them?” Hinata asked, though she knew how he would respond before the question came out.

“Burn them,” Sasuke stated simply.  Naruto quirked an eyebrow, but Shikamaru only nodded grimly.

“It means less competition in the next stage,” the Nara boy said thoughtfully.  “Which means the rest of us have a better chance of getting through the next round, most likely.  It’ll be pretty troublesome for those with Scrolls of Heaven.”  Sasuke nodded, and a moment later Naruto did as well.

Sasuke knelt down next to the three scrolls, extending a hand and concentrating.  He had very little chakra to spare, but this technique was minor.  As he gathered the chakra, however, a jolt of pain shot through his body, originating from the seal on his neck.  He winced, but managed to grunt out, “Katon: Flame Contagion.”  A single spark shot from his palm and landed on the nearest scroll, smoldering for a few seconds.  Then the little ember jumped again, splitting into two, then four, and continuing to multiply and spread to the other scrolls.  The fire they started was small and controlled, and from the look of intense concentration on Sasuke’s face it could be assumed that he was the one guiding the progress.

A few minutes later the scrolls had been reduced to ash, and Sasuke lowered his arm wearily.  A sheen of sweat had broken near his hairline, something that drew concerned looks from both Hinata and Naruto.  Such a minor version of that technique wouldn’t have caused their friend any noticeable strain unless he really was dangerously low on chakra.

“Hinata-chan, are there any more traps or genin from here to the tower?” Naruto asked.  She shook her head a moment later, nodding towards the thinning trees.

“There’s nothing that I can see.  If we go that way, we shouldn’t encounter anything else.”  She let out a small sound of protest as Naruto lifted her again, though he seemed not to notice and turned to smirk at Sasuke.

“Want me to carry you too, Sasuke?”  His friend glared at him, though there was no real malice behind the look.  As a response Sasuke straightened and started making his way unceremoniously towards the tower, and after a few seconds Team Ten followed.  Naruto chuckled softly, winked down at Hinata, and followed.

As Hinata had assured them, the way to the tower was completely clear.  She took one last look before they left the shelter of the trees, and then the six of them rushed to the base of the massive structure.  There were sets of double doors all the way around, as far as they could tell, and almost all of them had a paper seal fixed over the gap between each door.  Only one had been broken, and it was now chained shut.

“I guess we split up here,” Shikamaru said, pointing at the nearest entrance.  “I’m betting each team is supposed to have their own door, otherwise I don’t see the purpose in having so many.”

“Sounds about right,” Sasuke sighed, stepping forward to one of them.  He looked back to his teammates, who nodded and moved up behind him.  Naruto turned to Shikamaru and smiled.

“Thanks again for your help, and good luck.”

“Don’t mention it.”  Shikamaru turned and waved a hand nonchalantly, and his team followed quickly behind.  “We’ll see you in the next test, whatever it will be.”  He walked up to the next set of doors and casually shoved them open, breaking the paper seal and disappearing inside with Chouji and Ino in tow.

“Ready?” Sasuke asked, though they all knew that the question was rhetorical.  He put a hand on each of the doorknobs and turned them.  The paper ripped down the middle as the doors swung inward, revealing a long, dark hallway.  He glanced back again at Naruto and Hinata, who both gave him approving looks.  Without another word Team Seven stepped forward into the tower, leaving the Forest of Death behind them.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“‛If you do not possess Heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared.  If you do not possess Earth, run through the fields and seek strength.  If you open the Scrolls of Heaven and Earth, dangerous paths will become safe.  This is the secret of . . . something . . . It shall lead you on your way.’”

“Is it supposed to be a riddle?” Naruto asked after Hinata finished reading the text.  They were staring up at a framed canvas, hung at the end of a large room that the hallway had led them to.  “‛cause it seems pretty obvious that we’re just supposed to open both scrolls here.”

“I doubt it’s a puzzle or anything,” Sasuke said tiredly.  “We already made it through the test under the conditions the examiner set out.”

“I just wonder what the missing part is,” Hinata mused, looking more tired than curious.

“Well, if it tells us to open the scrolls maybe we’ll find out,” Naruto offered.  He leaned down and lowered Hinata’s legs to the ground, though he kept his arm under her own.  With his spare hand he pulled their original Scroll of Heaven from his pouch and held it out, and Sasuke did the same with the Scroll of Earth they had received from the Sound.  “Can you get the seal, Hinata-chan?” As his other arm was occupied supporting her, she could only swallow nervously and nod.  Her hand shook a little as she lifted the scroll’s flap, breaking the seal at the same time Sasuke undid his own.  They all looked at one another for a moment, shared a serious silence, and then tore open the scrolls.

Naruto looked down at the unraveled scroll, mystified.  There was a large symbol surrounded by script set in a circular pattern, flowing out from the center figure.  He was about to ask what it meant when Sasuke lunged forward and grabbed the scroll from him, spinning and throwing both of them clear across the room.  Naruto opened his mouth to ask what in the world he was doing, but he stopped when smoke started pouring from the scrolls.  A moment later there was a loud popping sound, and a figure appeared within the haze.

“Well I can’t say that I’m surprised to see that you three made it, but I . . .” Iruka stepped out from the rising clouds and froze, eyes widening as he focused on the three genin.  “Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke; what happened to you?  Are you alright?”

“Iruka-sensei!” Naruto beamed, though he stayed put next to Hinata.  His expression fell quickly into a dubious one, eyeing his former teacher.  “Why did you appear from the scrolls?”

“It’s a chuunin’s job to meet the examinees here when they complete the test,” he said slowly, his eyes still full of concern.  “But why are you all in such bad shape?”  Naruto blinked, and looked down at himself, then at his friends.  They were all covered in various forms of grime, from dirt to twigs to burs.  It had been a fairly gradual process getting so filthy, so none of them had given it much thought until now.  But as Sasuke slumped to the ground, clearly exhausted, and Hinata leaned heavily on him, Naruto realized what Iruka really meant.

“Oh, uh . . .” He hesitated, wondering how much to tell right then.  Iruka would certainly get the whole story sooner or later, but for now it would have to be the short version.  “We got attacked by a really strong, really creepy guy named Orochimaru, and we need to see Kakashi-sensei as soon as possible.”  Again the chuunin froze, and his breath caught in his throat.  He coughed and sputtered a few times before he was finally able to blurt out a few words.

“Orochimaru?!  Are you positive that’s who it was?”  Naruto nodded once at him, looking grave.

“He did something to Sasuke, but we don’t really know what.  We though Kakashi-sensei would know what to do.”  Iruka kept staring for a long moment before snapping himself out of the momentary daze.  His voice was sharp when he spoke again, sounding more alarmed and serious than Naruto had ever heard him.

“Come with me.”  He hurried to Sasuke and pulled him to his feet, supporting him in the same manner that Naruto still held Hinata.  “Hurry.”

Iruka led them through a series of hallways and up several flights of stairs.  When he finally stopped they were standing in front of a door that looked identical to the countless ones they had already passed.  He raised a hand and rapped sharply on it.  It opened a moment later, and Anko was staring hard at the four of them.

“What do you want, Iruka?  We have an emergency we’re dealing with.”

“Does it involve Orochimaru?” he asked solemnly, meeting her gaze without flinching.  The kunoichi balked at that, then moved her eyes over the sorry-looking Team Seven.

“Bring them inside, and then go find Kakashi.  He should be with the rest of the jounin on the sixth floor.”  Iruka grunted and move inside.  It was a small room, furnished with a large sofa at its center and several large television screens up against the wall in front of it.  Two chuunin proctors were inside, along with the Sandaime.  They watched with blank expressions as the trio were escorted in and allowed to take a seat on the couch.  Iruka bowed to the Hokage, stole a last glance at Team Seven, and rushed out of the room.

“It’s just like he said,” Anko growled, beginning to pace as soon as the door was shut.  “Orochimaru gave Sasuke the Cursed Seal of Heaven.”  She rounded on the Hokage and spread her arms, looking irate and desperate.  “Hokage-sama, we _must_ cancel the Chuunin Exam.  It’s far too dangerous if _he_ is nearby.”

“But he warned you not to cancel it,” the old man replied calmly, puffing steadily on his pipe.  “And taking such an action would most certainly outrage and offend the villages we are hosting.  Political unrest coupled with Orochimaru’s threat against Konohagakure makes calling off the test impossible.”

“But–!” Anko began, but he held up his hand for silence.

“We will take the necessary precautions, Anko.  I do not wish to put our genin or anybody else in more danger, but there are too many things that we cannot see or predict.  Our best course of action is to continue with the knowledge we have, and make certain that we are well prepared in case of an insurgence.”

“Ano, Hokage-sama?” Naruto started hesitantly, earning him a sharp look from Anko and measured one from the Sandaime.  “What’s a Cursed Seal of Heaven, and what does it do?”  He glanced worriedly at Sasuke, who was still holding his neck and trying to look like he wasn’t in pain.  Hinata seemed concerned as well, though her eyes were half-lidded and she looked to be in danger of nodding off.

“It’s Orochimaru’s curse mark,” Anko spat, and they noticed her hand subconsciously rubbing at her own neck.  “It forcibly inserts his chakra into a host, and when you activate the seal it grants you incredible power, but at a cost.  Every moment that it’s active it will eat away your chakra; if it stays active too much, you can die.”

“Stays active?  You mean Sasuke can’t choose whether or not it happens?” Hinata asked, suddenly looking very awake at the news.

“He’s able to suppress it, it looks like, which is more impressive than the fact that he survived in the first place.”  Naruto and Hinata paled, but Sasuke merely continued to stare at the wall.  “But it can react to a number of things and come about on its own.  We need to seal it right away; Kakashi knows the technique.”

“Sealing a seal?” Naruto asked.  “That sounds . . . complicated.”

“It is, and it requires a great deal of preparation, focus, and chakra.  Not to mention a certain sacrifice on the user’s part.”  Anko looked as if she was going to continue, but the door opened a second later and Kakashi entered.  Somehow he managed to look bored even now.  His features remained neutral even as Anko broke off to explain the situation.  When she finished, he looked at his team, nodded once, and turned to address the Hokage.

“I’m going to take him to the basement and get to work immediately.  I would like Hinata and Naruto to accompany me.”

“But they need to rest!” Iruka objected, looking appalled by the thought of them having to stay awake a moment longer.  Kakashi tilted his head to the side, then spoke in a very low, dangerous tone.

“They aren’t your students to coddle any longer, Iruka.  They are my subordinates.  I know you care about them, but it is no longer up to you to decide what is in their best interest.”  What little could be seen of Kakashi’s expression softened as he looked back towards his three genin.  “They are shinobi of the Hidden Leaf now, and I plan to treat them as such.”  Nobody spoke for several tense moments.  Iruka’s face held an ever-changing mixture of outrage, sadness, and begrudging acceptance.  He finally nodded curtly, bowed to the Sandaime, and left the room without another word.

“That was a bit harsh, Kakashi,” the Hokage chided, though he didn’t object to the content of the jounin’s message.  Kakashi bowed before speaking again.

“I apologize, Hokage-sama, but my words stand.  These three are strong, and I don’t wish for their fortitude to be undermined.”  _And I want them to be able to stay together.  Sasuke shouldn’t have to suffer through this without his friends by his side._

“I understand.  Please, make haste with the seal.  And Team Seven,” the Hokage continued, turning to the three pairs of tired eyes.  He smiled warmly and touched the brim of his wide hat.  “Congratulations on completing the second exam.  You’ve earned your rest.”  Naruto grinned broadly at him, and even Hinata managed a small smile.  Sasuke only looked troubled and distracted.

The next hour passed in a haze of exhaustion.  Kakashi led them below the building, into a room built into the foundation.  It was very cold, and made entirely of stone with only enough torches to cast an eerie glow throughout.

Kakashi got to work quickly after having them settle down against the wall.  He proceeded to cut two large circles in the open space before him, only a centimeter or two apart, and driving a kunai in between them at specific points.  He repeated the process again further in, and the result was a set of concentric circles with eight kunai laid out symmetrically within.  Kakashi stepped back then and moved to the small kit he had brought with him, withdrawing and inserting a needle into the large vein near the crook of his elbow, drawing it slowly to fill a syringe.  Naruto watched as his teacher emptied the blood into a small bowl, and he remained silent as Kakashi set the items down and turned towards them. 

“Sasuke,” he said quietly, “Take off your shirt and come over here.”  Still saying nothing, Sasuke did as he was instructed, moving to the centermost circle and allowing Kakashi to guide him into a sitting position at the center.  The next step took the longest, though it wasn’t for Kakashi’s lack of speed.  He had taken up the dish containing his blood, and starting around the mark on Sasuke’s neck he began painting on the warm liquid with his index and middle fingers.  The scrawling runes went down Sasuke’s back and chest, connecting to the floor and passing directly through the aligned kunai.  It took half an hour to finish, and every ounce of the blood, but finally Kakashi moved to stand behind Sasuke.

Naruto and Hinata had forced themselves to watch and offer no distraction.  Without having to say it, they both knew why they were still awake.  It would have been all too easy to pass out leaning against that wall, but then their friend would be left to endure this alone.  They held on to one another’s hands tightly, tensing as Kakashi moved into position.

“This is going to hurt, but it will pass quickly.  I know you’re exhausted, but bear with it.”  Sasuke nodded and clenched his jaw.  Kakashi waited for a few seconds, then raised his hands.

Kakashi could normally form seals at a blinding speed, but when he began the technique his hands were moving much slower, as if he was being more careful than usual.  The sequence was unusually long, and Naruto lost track of how many hand seals were formed after about thirty seconds.  When he finally stopped, his hands were held firmly in a rat seal.

“Fuuja Houin.” Kakashi lowered his palm to the Cursed Seal of Heaven and pressed hard.  For the briefest moment Sasuke thought the jutsu had failed.  And then he screamed, his entire body erupting in pain unlike any he had ever experienced.  The symbols of blood writhed, coiling towards Kakashi’s palm and lifting themselves out of the stone and flesh like living things.  It was over in seconds, but it took several more for Sasuke’s anguished cries to cease echoing around the stone chamber.  The boy was on his hands and knees now, shaking with his eyes shut tightly.

“That jutsu will prevent the seal from activating on its own,” he stated calmly, dabbing at his arm with a cloth to clean off the blood.  “But it utilizes your will as its source, so to speak.  If you waver in your vigilance to keep it contained, the seal will reactivate, and you will be in danger of losing your life.  Never forget that.”

“Is there . . . a way to get rid of it . . . for good?” Sasuke ground out through his clenched teeth, gasping a moment later and breathing heavily.

“If there is, we don’t yet know of it.  You’ll have to endure it for now.”  Kakashi sounded as apologetic as he could, which was to say his inflection changed very slightly.  Sasuke grunted, and then his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed.

“Sasuke!”  Naruto jumped to his feet and ran to his friend, but Kakashi held out a hand to block his way.

“I’ll carry him up; you help Hinata.  You all need to rest now.  There are rooms on the top floor for teams that have already finished.”

“They would be on the top floor,” Naruto lamented under his breath, sparing a worried glance for Sasuke before rushing back to Hinata.  She was already standing on her own, but she seemed grateful when he came to help her follow Kakashi.  Exhaustion was doing its best to shut her eyes, and Naruto was beginning to feel the same urge.  Without the near constant adrenaline rush they’d experienced through the Forest of Death, they were left with the weight of worry, sore bodies, and extreme fatigue.

After what felt like an eternity they were on the highest floor and in their assigned room.  Kakashi had left after laying Sasuke on one of the beds and listing off a few instructions to Naruto and Hinata.  Neither of them registered the words entirely; they would have to ask about it when they woke up.

It was tempting to simply fall on to one of the mattresses and let sleep take him, but Naruto groaned and walked to the small bathroom connected to the room.  “I’m going to clean up and see if they have spare clothes,” he said tiredly.  Hinata nodded from her seat on the bed, struggling to stay conscious in order to follow through with the same plan.  Luckily Naruto was in and out of the bathroom in just over five minutes, emerging with a plain white shirt and blue shorts.

“There’s some clothes in the closet in there,” he said tiredly, falling heavily onto the bed next to hers.  Hinata jumped; she had been nodding off slowly while waiting for him to come out.  She shook herself and nodded, standing slowly and wobbling slightly on her way to the facilities.

When she emerged a few minutes later, clothed in an outfit almost identical to Naruto’s, Hinata stumbled over to the nearest bed and crawled into it.  Surprisingly enough, it was already warm.  She sighed softly, tugging the comforter up to her chin and snuggling into the bed.  Her already slipping consciousness didn’t register Naruto’s arm wrapping around her as she inadvertently burrowed closer to him; he wouldn’t realize it either until they awoke many hours later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks. I had some fun writing this chapter, admittedly, though it stretched my abilities a little with the multi-person action scenes. I do hope you enjoyed it, though.
> 
> I changed the summary sometime this weekend (with Rhi’s help, of course). The original was just thrown together so that I could start writing, but I wanted to make it more interesting I guess. The new one I think better captivates the whole of the story, and is just plain more intriguing. I think so, anyway!
> 
> Speaking of Rhi: a thanks to her again for doing beta things for this chapter. She also wrote a coda to my AU a little bit ago (which I beta’d for her, of course); if you want to check it out, her profile on FF.net is “arhi”. (Leave nice reviews!)
> 
> Thanks again for reading, reviewing, and the whole shebang. See you next time!
> 
> -Wes


	13. Bittersweet Victories

“It’s . . . hard to describe,” Sasuke said dully, staring down at his folded hands.  He was sitting on the end of his bed, with his friends on either side of him.  The early morning sunlight cast a soft glow through the thin curtains.  However, what might have been a comfortable, peaceful environment was tense.

“Sasuke, it’s been three days.  I know you’ve talked to Kakashi about it a little, but you said you’d talk to us, too.”  Naruto wore an uncharacteristically serious expression, a testament to his concern.  “All you’ve said so far is that it wasn’t you back there, but it also was at the same time.  I don’t get it.”

“We’re only worried about you,” Hinata offered quietly.  She was fidgeting with the hem of her coat – which had been cleaned along with the rest of their clothes – but in a distracted manner rather than in her usual nervous habit.  Sasuke was silent for a time; they had been saying similar things ever since he had recovered from the sealing technique the day before.  Kakashi hadn’t given him a choice in the matter, but his friends hadn’t pressed him too hard.  He knew they were concerned.

“You two remember when Itachi murdered my family, as well as the rest of my clan, don’t you?” The sudden question caught them off guard, but Hinata and Naruto both nodded; it was impossible to forget such a thing.  “In the aftermath and for a few years following I was so focused on killing Itachi.  It was all I thought about some days; it distracted me from training even though it should have been motivation to train harder.  And it never faded,” he continued, his fists clenching.  “Not for a single moment.  It just got easier to set aside, to focus in the day-to-day.  But it’s always there, in the back of my mind, reminding me that my older brother took everything from me.

“When I said that it wasn’t me back in the forest, in some ways that was true.  But . . .” Sasuke struggled to find the words, shutting his eyes tightly for a moment before relaxing again.  When he opened his eyes and spoke he sounded tired.  “But it _was_ me.  Somewhere, deep down, I _wanted_ to hurt that guy.  I _wanted_ to kill him in the most painful way I could think of.  _I_ wanted that; it was me.”  Naruto’s studying eyes felt like the harshest judgment.

“After I fell unconscious, I had these . . . really vivid dreams; they felt so real at the time.  In every single one I had to watch that . . . that scene again.”  Though his features remained placid, several tears slid their way down his face.  “I saw my parents’ dead bodies, with Itachi standing over them.  I had to experience his Tsukuyomi again . . . and again, and again.  I saw how he killed them – every one – in perfect clarity.  I thought . . .” Sasuke clenched teeth and shut his eyes again, forcing the choking emotions away.  “I had suppressed it; I even stopped having nightmares about it.  But . . . In that one night after Orochimaru gave me his curse it all came back, along with every single ounce of my hatred for Itachi.  It made me remember it, and once I woke up I knew what it had been trying to do.  And . . . it worked.

“When I was finally conscious the chakra was already there, and I could feel the power it gave me.  I’m sure you both noticed how strong it was; it felt something like Naruto when he’s got that cloak on.”  Naruto nodded solemnly, flexing his right hand – the one that had caught Sasuke’s punch.  Hinata inclined her head as well, wiping at the corners of her eyes with her sleeves.  “It felt . . . Incredible.  It felt like I could do anything with that power, like I could kill Itachi.”

“And that’s what it wanted you to feel,” Naruto said quietly. “Isn’t it?”

“I knew it was dangerous, and I knew it was stupid.  But . . . I couldn’t think straight.  All I wanted to do was take out that anger, that terrible hatred on _somebody._ I would have killed Dosu if you hadn’t stopped me, Naruto.”  Hinata bit her lip and glanced at him, but Sasuke only shook his head, his voice growing harder.  “I would have, and you know it.  And if you had let me stay like that I wouldn’t have felt the slightest remorse.  I think . . . I think that curse just brought who I really am into light.  I feel like I’ve just been pretending all this time, trying to be something I’m not.  In reality, I’m nothing except what he made me.  I’m just like him; like Orochimaru.”

“You’re wrong.” Sasuke turned fully to his left and blinked.  He wasn’t surprised at the words; he had expected them from Naruto.  But it had been Hinata who had so fervently spoken.  She didn’t even flush as they both looked at her.  “I said you’re wrong, Sasuke-kun.”  He blinked again several times; Hinata had never attached an endearing suffix to his name, or any at all for that matter.  “Itachi didn’t take everything from you, and you are what you choose to be.”  He found his hand tightly grasped in hers, and before he could get a word out Naruto took his other in a similarly firm hold.

“Sasuke,” he started, examining his spare hand.  “We didn’t let you isolate yourself back then, and we won’t now or ever.  That curse didn’t do anything but try to tempt you into becoming somebody you’re not.  C’mon,” Naruto continued, smirking sidewise at his friend.  “We’ve known you for over five years now.  You may be a stubborn ass– er, jerk,” he corrected, eyes flickering to Hinata.  “But you’re our friend, and you have to care about us at least a little to put up with me all the time.  Haku really likes you, too.  He’s not the type to like people unless there’s good in them.”

“He was fond of Zabuza,” Sasuke said wryly, though his tone was significantly softer now.

“Kakashi told us what Zabuza said just before he died,” Hinata put in. “We know he actually cared about Haku.  And I think Haku knows that even if you seem distant and apathetic a lot of times, you’re a good person.”

“I know that we can’t really understand how you feel, Sasuke,” Naruto said quietly.  His grip tightened on his friend’s hand as he continued.  “But we’ve at least lived through enough on our own to know a little of what it’s like.”  He looked past Sasuke to Hinata, who met his gaze for a moment before nodding slowly.  “I never had family to lose, not until Iruka-sensei took me in.  I’ve never admitted it, but I was lonely, and a part of me hurt every time I saw kids with their parents.  It still does, sometimes.  But . . .” A genuine, warm smile tugged at his lips, and he looked appreciatively towards the three of their locked hands.  “Thanks to you I get to know what it would be like to have a brother.”  Sasuke tensed, and for a second Naruto cursed his choice of words.  But then he realized that his friend was looking down and trying to hold back tears.

“I . . .” Hinata hesitated, gripping hard at both her coat and Sasuke’s hand.  “When my father cast me out and I came to live with Iruka-sensei, you were always kind to me, Sasuke-kun.  I mean, not that you weren’t before,” she said quickly, blushing slightly.  “But you always encouraged me, in your own way, and never let me get down on myself.  I don’t . . . I don’t know entirely how you feel either, but I do know that you’re our friend, and that you’re truly a nice person.  Nobody, not Orochimaru or Itachi, can take that away.  And they can’t take us away, either.”

“But they can,” Sasuke rasped, his tears flowing freely now.  “Itachi massacred every other Uchiha alive by himself.  And Orochimaru could have killed all three of us easily.  That’s why that power was so tempting; I don’t want to be helpless like that again.  I want to have the strength to avenge my clan, and . . .” _And . . ._

And then it hit him.  Tears still dripped steadily onto his lap, some falling onto his friends’ hands, but Sasuke’s expression had smoothed over.  His eyes were a little wide as he stared down at Hinata’s pale fingers, turning his gaze slowly over to Naruto’s a moment later.  _And to protect my friends._   They both tightened their hold on his hands, as if they could sense his thoughts.

“And for us,” Naruto finished for him.  “That’s proof enough that you’re not like them, Sasuke.”  It was only a slight pressure at first, but slowly Sasuke started to squeeze back until he was holding hard enough to make them wince.  A long, comfortable silence fell between them.  What had needed to be said had been, and for a time the trio simply enjoyed each other’s presence.

“We’ll get them both,” Sasuke said at last, his voice calm and strong again.  “Itachi and Orochimaru.  But . . .” He looked to his right, then left, smirking at Naruto and Hinata.  “We’ll do it the right way.”

“Right!” his friends agreed in unison.  Another long pause allowed Sasuke to collect himself, retrieving his hands to wipe his eyes.  They were long past the point of being embarrassed around one another, but it wouldn’t do to make them worry more.

“Thanks Naruto, Hinata.  Sorry for letting it get to me.”

“Oh whatever,” Naruto grinned, rolling his eyes as he stood and stretched towards the ceiling.  “How about we go get breakfast instead of talking about how dramatic you are?”  Sasuke smirked and rose from the bed, hitting Naruto’s shoulder in a light jest.  He turned towards the door to lead the way out, and Hinata stood to follow.  As Naruto’s hand fell comfortably into her own, she smiled and squeezed gently.  Just like he had promised, they had made it through together.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“Yo.  How’d you sleep together – I mean, how’d you sleep?” Shikamaru asked coolly, unable to keep the cheeky grin from his features.  Naruto and Hinata both turned red and looked away from one another.  They were seated at a long table in a makeshift cafeteria, which had likely been set up solely for the exam.

“I can’t believe Kakashi-sensei told everybody about that,” Naruto mumbled, poking at his omelette.  “It was an accident, and besides why’d he come in our room so early anyway?”  Hinata stayed silent, too embarrassed to even chance looking up.  Kiba and Shikamaru shared a hearty laugh at their expense.

“Oh man, when we got here yesterday I think that was one of the first things we heard,” Kiba said cheerily, alternating between shoving fish in his mouth and talking.

“Whatever.  I’d like to see you try to stay conscious with the amount of chakra we had left, let alone find your way to the right bed.”  Naruto scowled and took a large, grumpy bite of egg and rice.  Shikamaru chuckled and shook his head, though his expression sobered as he began speaking again.

“Yeah, you guys were pretty beat up.  You still not going to tell us what happened?” he asked, glancing at the three of them from across the table.  Sasuke shrugged, and sipped at his miso soup; he might have been back to normal, but that didn’t mean he was up for much more conversation that early in the morning.  Hinata fidgeted with her jacket and shook her head, her blush slowly receding.

“Sorry Shikamaru, but Kakashi-sensei said that we can’t,” Naruto responded, and he truly sounded sincere.

“All we could figure out is that you guys were attacked by somebody who wasn’t supposed to be in the exam,” Tenten said as she took a seat next to Hinata, smiling at the other girl.  “All of the jounin are being really tight-lipped about it.”

“Even Gai-sensei won’t tell me,” Lee sulked, taking the seat by Sasuke.  Naruto blinked at both of them in turn, raising a curious eyebrow.  The rest of the rookies went silent.

“Isn’t Neji going to be mad if you’re hanging out with us?” Naruto asked.

“He’s staying in our room for a while,” Tenten shrugged, starting into her meal.  “Something about meditating before the next exam starts in a few hours.  I think he’s still peeved that two rookie teams finished before we did.”  She, however, didn’t seem troubled by it at all.  Team Gai had purposefully taken their time, though, as Neji had been sure to inform them.  It was probably true, but Naruto still allowed himself to feel a little smug about beating them to the tower.

“It is very impressive,” Lee stated emphatically, sending rice scattering across the table as he flourished his chopsticks.  “You all have shown us that your fires of youth are not to be underestimated!”  Tenten rolled her eyes and shared a look with Hinata that sent them both into light giggles.  Naruto, though, humored him.

“Yeah!  A lot of teams from Konoha passed, actually.  All of the rookies, you guys, Kabuto-san’s team; aside from that, only that one Suna team got through.”  He got a lot of grins from that, and even Ino and Sakura stopped arguing long enough to nod and afford irritated smiles.  Shikamaru looked troubled, however.

“I’m not sure that’s entirely a good thing,” he mused, staring down at his untouched food.  Everyone but Tenten looked at him curiously; she merely nodded and continued eating with a grave expression.  Shikamaru shrugged and continued, rubbing distractedly at the back of his neck.  “I mean, don’t you think it might look a little strange to the other villages if five of the six teams that passed are from the hosting village?”  The rest of the genin had only just begun nodding in comprehension when a low voice started from the door at the far side of the room.

“That’s seven teams, brat,” Zaku spat as he ambled into the room, followed closely by Dosu and Kin.  “And hell yeah it’s suspicious.”

“Not really,” Kin shrugged, smirking at the familiar faces.  “It’s easier to get genin in to an event hosted in your own village.  Not to mention, your broken arm says that they earned their place here.”  Zaku cast her a venomous glare; she ignored it and returned a devious smile instead.

“Quiet down.” Dosu growled, sidling ahead of his companions and nodding towards the rookies.  The three Sound-nin looked a little worse for the wear, but overall healthy.  Zaku’s right arm hung in a sling crafted from bandages, and he looked as contemptuous as ever as his team passed by.  Naruto and Sasuke watched them with narrowed eyes while Hinata looked worriedly between her teammates and the newcomers.  Ino and Chouji blanched and tried to pretend they didn’t notice, and Shikamaru managed to continue looking bored.

“As I was saying,” he sighed, finally starting into his cooling breakfast.  “While it’s definitely something to be proud of, I would be careful how we act around other people.  It’s troublesome, but you never know who might decide to call foul on the Hokage for rigging the exam.”

“The old man wouldn’t do something like that,” Naruto said sharply, annoyed that anybody could even think that about the Sandaime.  Shikamaru shrugged noncommittally, but it was Shino who responded.  It took everybody a moment to locate the boy, who had been sitting right next to Kiba the entire time.

“That is irrelevant.  The potential for political strife is great, and we would do well not to exacerbate the situation.”  He lapsed into silence again and returned to sipping at his tea.  Naruto understood, then.

_That’s probably why they didn’t cancel the exam._

**_Aye.  The alliances between villages are frail at best; you mortals will find any reason to slaughter one another._ **

_I don’t want to hear that from you._ Even annoyed, Naruto could tell that the fox’s subsequent silence was different than normal.  It was a simmering one, as expected, but it also had an undertone of anger that was not directed at him.  Naruto shivered; it was disturbing sometimes that he could tell how the Kyuubi felt by just thinking about it.

Conversation moved back towards more amiable topics after that.  Kiba explained in great detail how he had single-handedly taken out a group of genin from Suna, though he was forced amend his statements when Sakura hit him over the head hard enough to leave a visible bump.  Lee went on an unabashed tangent about he had saved Sakura from a giant centipede, proceeding directly after to ask the pink-haired kunoichi on a date.  He was refused flatly, though there was a tint of red in Sakura’s cheeks as she informed him that he was far too ‘unique’ for her tastes.  Ino bragged incessantly about how she had ‘saved Sasuke-kun’ from the Sound-nin, and that was a note that Sasuke couldn’t help but respond to.

“I wasn’t there to be saved,” he stated nonchalantly, reclining in his chair with an arm hanging lazily over the back.  “I’m sure Naruto appreciates you distracting them for him, though.  By the way, Sakura, would you like to grab lunch or something after the next exam is over?”  Sasuke had offered the question as mildly as possible.  Naruto struggled to keep his face straight, and Hinata busied herself examining a spot on the far wall.  Ino’s look of stunned disbelief was exaggerated further by her mouth hanging open.  Sakura only blinked at Sasuke for a few seconds before flushing and nodding quickly.

“Of course, Sasuke-kun!” Sakura bubbled, being very careful not to look towards Ino.  If anything she had a decent head on her shoulders, and she had caught on to what Sasuke was doing immediately.  It was a little disappointing that he wasn’t asking her on a genuine date, but teaching Ino a lesson while getting to spend time with Sasuke wouldn’t hurt.  It wouldn’t hurt at all.  Sasuke nodded and stood, acting as if nothing had happened while Ino began to rail at Sakura.

Naruto and Hinata stood after Sasuke, discarding their disposable plates before heading for the exit.  “That was cruel, Sasuke-kun,” Hinata said in a disapproving tone.  “You told Ino you’d go on a date after the exam.”

“No, I said I’d consider it.  So I thought about it, and decided she’s obnoxious and needs to be taken down a peg or two.”

“By going on a date with Sakura?” Naruto asked, raising a curious eyebrow.  “I thought you always thought she was just as annoying as Ino.”

“I’m starting to think she’s not quite as irritating.  It’s close, but at least she’s smart.  Besides, it’s not going to be a real date anyway,” he said with a dry smirk.  “We’ll just go to Ichiraku or something, chat a little, and be done with it.  I just hope she doesn’t go bragging about it to Ino, or it’ll only prove she’s as immature.”

“Still, I don’t think that’s the right way to go about it.”  Sasuke rolled his eyes at Hinata as they walked; she always avoided contention and tried to be nice to everybody.  She seemed distracted, though, so he didn’t push the topic further.

“Something wrong, Hinata-chan?  You’re gripping my hand a little tight.”  Naruto seemed legitimately concerned, and even more so when Hinata jumped at the question and blushed.

“N-No, I’m fine.  I was just thinking about something.”  She relaxed her hold on his hand as they reached the door, shaking her head and sighing mentally at herself.  _I can wait._

“Naruto, do you have a minute?” Shikamaru asked from behind them.  Naruto turned, noticed that he was sporting a severe expression, and nodded.

“I’ll meet you in the room,” he said, turning briefly back to Hinata and Sasuke.  They hesitated for only a moment before returning his nod and exiting the dining hall.  “What’s up, Shikamaru?” He returned his focus to the other boy, wondering what it was that could only be said to him.

“Let’s go someplace else,” Shikamaru suggested in a way that could only mean this would be a serious conversation.  “It’d be troublesome if somebody overheard.”  That got both of Naruto’s eyebrows up, but he nodded and led the way from the room.

They walked in silence for a few minutes until they reached an empty room.  Shikamaru closed the door behind them, then folded his arms and leaned against it.  Naruto wasn’t sure what he was up to, but the secrecy was making him uneasy.

“What’s up?” Naruto asked again.  Shikamaru watched him for a long moment before taking on a careful tone.

“Ino told me what happened after I was knocked unconscious.  Her attention span is pretty low, but I got enough out of her to have a lot of questions.”  He took a deep breath before continuing, noting that Naruto was already getting a little defensive.  “Look, it’s not my business what that strange orange chakra was around you, or the purple chakra around Sasuke.  But I have a feeling it’s connected to what all of the instructors are so nervous about.  If it’s something dangerous, we have a right to know about it.”

Naruto relaxed a little, rubbing absently at the back of his neck.  “Er, my chakra doesn’t have anything to do with it, I promise.  And . . . Well, all I can say is that Sasuke’s did, but it got taken care of already.”

“Can’t you tell me something?” Shikamaru sighed, sounding annoyed.  “I get that you might get in trouble, but don’t you think it’s irresponsible to keep this information from everybody?  What if this person who attacked you comes back and attacks another team during the next exam?  Maybe if we knew a little about it we could stand a better chance.”

“I . . .” Naruto hesitated, staring down at his hands for a few seconds.  “Look, if I tell you what happened, you can’t tell anybody else alright?  At least if you know you’ll be able to help make a plan if the guy does show up again.”  Shikamaru nodding begrudgingly, and Naruto took another deep breath.  “Do you know who Orochimaru is?”  The other boy’s eyes widened, and he nodded again.  He listened intently as Naruto detailed what had happened on the first day of the exam and their encounter with Orochimaru.  By the time he had finished Shikamaru was pacing back and forth wearing a troubled expression.

“So one of the legendary Sannin attacked you three, gave Sasuke that curse, and then let you live?”  Naruto shrugged, and Shikamaru scowled.  “The fact that you managed to land a hit on him at all is impressive, but I don’t get why he would let you go.  Unless . . .” He drummed his fingers against his opposite wrist.  “Unless he wants to observe the effects of his curse during the rest of the exam.  And he picked Sasuke among the three of you; there has to be a reason for that.”

“We just figured it was because he’s an Uchiha.  I mean, since the massacre there are only two alive that we know of.  Sasuke said that the curse was trying to change him.”

“That makes sense; Orochimaru said that Sasuke will come to find him, right?  Maybe he wants Sasuke’s bloodline for something.”  It was starting to hurt his head thinking about it.  A missing-nin like Orochimaru could kill every one of them without breaking a sweat.  So why wasn’t he?  Shikamaru shook his head again.  “Anyway, thanks for telling me.  I’ll think it over more.”

“No problem.  Was there anything else?”

“How did you three get to be so strong?” Naruto blinked at that question and tilted his head to the side, genuinely confused.

“What do you mean?  We just trained a lot.”  Shikamaru shook his head for the umpteenth time.

“Naruto, you all went against Orochimaru and held your own – to an extent, anyway.  Then you went against those three genin from the Sound who were a lot stronger than they should have been, but you still stood a chance even when you must have been low on chakra.  Hinata can use medical ninjutsu precise enough to heal my inner ear and Chouji’s muscle tissue.  Not to mention she had enough chakra to keep her Byakugan consistently active for over a full day, _and_ she healed _four_ people in such a short time.  Sasuke’s ninjutsu and speed with hand seals are incredible, too, from what you described.  And what’s more, you guys are inventing your own techniques.”  He took another deep breath after that, eyeing Naruto in a calculating manner.  “All of the teams train, but you three are on your own level.  Why?”

“I mean . . . We train a lot?” Naruto looked a little lost, but did his best to explain.  “Outside of academy classes we’ve trained together pretty much every day since we were seven.  While most of the other kids went to play, we trained instead.  Sasuke helped me and Hinata with ninjutsu, I helped them with taijutsu, and Hinata helped with our chakra control and recognizing genjutsu.  Even on days that we had classes we’d spend an extra four or five hours training.”  Shikamaru blinked at that.  He had known that the trio put a lot of time into training, but he hadn’t been aware just how much.

“What’s a normal day of training for you like?” he asked slowly.

“We like to split it up.  Nowadays we’ll start before dawn and work on our own for an hour or so.  Hinata usually meditates and stretches with her Byakugan active to increase the amount of time she can keep it active; she said something about being able to see farther, too.  Sasuke works with Haku on honing his skill using the Sharingan, so they do all sorts of things.  I usually do a few hundred pushups and sit-ups, then either practice with ninja tools or spar with a few Shadow Clones.”  Shikamaru was already taken aback by that information, but as Naruto kept going his mouth slowly dropped open further.  “Then we’ll usually get together and spar for a few hours; I’ll keep making clones for whoever is sitting out.  They always say I’m better at the goken stances and stuff, but really I can just outlast them in fights.

“After that we break for lunch before working on ninjutsu.  Most of the time we just pick a new technique we think would be useful and keep practicing it every day until we have it down.  Sasuke helps us with that; he’s really good at explaining how to mold chakra the right way, and gives us tips on how to make seals faster.

“After we finish that we go for another hour or so of sparring, then Hinata coaches us on chakra control.  We’ll never be as good as she is, but we’ve gotten a lot better at it.  She’s also been practicing genjutsu with Kakashi-sensei.”  He laughed then, catching Shikamaru off guard.  “I’m terrible at it, but at least I’ve learned the basics enough to know it when I see it.  I think.  Anyway, by then it’s near dinner time and we grab something to eat.  If Kakashi is training with us that day we have a sparring match with us three against him; we’ve never even gotten close to winning, but it helps us practice together.

“Usually that’s it,” Naruto concluded, thinking hard.  “If we feel like it we’ll do some more sparring before it gets dark, but usually we’ll just finish up with weapons training.  Kakashi-sensei says we should all find weapons that suit us.”  He rubbed at the back of his neck and grinned sheepishly.  “That’s pretty much what we do on the days we don’t do missions, and we’ve been doing something like that for five years.”

Shikamaru stared at him.  It wasn’t as if his team hadn’t been training, but that degree of diligence was unheard of.  Naruto lowered his hand and looked concernedly at the other boy, wondering if he had said something unsettling.  “What?  Isn’t that what everybody does?”

“Naruto,” Shikamaru started weakly, slumping heavily against the door.  “We train a lot too, but it’s nothing like that; not even close.  And we take days off, like most teams.  We also didn’t spend our academy days doing serious training.  How . . . Why in the world would you go through all of that trouble?”

“Because we want to be strong enough to protect one another,” Naruto said simply.  “Iruka-sensei always tells us that our job as the shinobi of Konoha is to protect the village, and to take that task seriously.  We train hard so that we can do that.  Besides, it’s always been fun spending time with Sasuke and Hinata; just because we’re training doesn’t mean we’re not enjoying ourselves.”

“To protect the village,” Shikamaru mused, soaking in his friend’s words.  Naruto had said it all so matter-of-factly, but it wasn’t something most of them thought about very often.  Real missions put comrades in harm’s way.  Nobody wanted to think about their friends dying, but Team Seven did on a regular basis.  And it made them strong, and want to become even stronger.  “I guess I see what you mean.”  _I’m going to have to talk to Asuma-sensei about our training.  Ino and Chouji won’t like it, and it’ll be troublesome, but Naruto’s right.  It’s our duty, and we should act like it._

“I need to get back to the room to go over a few things before the next exam,” Naruto put in apologetically, stepping towards the door.  Shikamaru shook himself, then nodded.  As Naruto reached for the door, however, Shikamaru spoke very quietly.

“One last thing, Naruto.” The blond froze, his fingertips brushing the doorknob.  The air thickened with tension in the moments before Shikamaru went on.  When he finally spoke, his voice was calm and conversational despite the air of unease.  “What’s with your orange chakra?  It’s not yours.”

Silence.  For a full minute neither of them spoke, and it felt like an eternity to Naruto as his thoughts raced.  _Does he know?_

 ** _He’s probably figuring it out,_** the fox reasoned, seeming to examine Shikamaru through Naruto’s eyes.  **_The kid has a sharp mind._**

“What do you mean?” Naruto ventured carefully, turning back away from the door.

“I’ve been noticing some weird chakra surges some days, when I get close to some of the training grounds.  It’s not normal chakra, and I felt it again in the forest three days ago when you took out those three Rain-nin.  It’s been coming from you.”  Naruto said nothing, instead just staring ahead.  “Other people have been noticing, although we’re told it’s just jutsu testing or something.  I didn’t buy that in the first place, though now I know it’s a lie.

“I guess it’s none of my business, but if you have access to that chakra it makes me wonder why you didn’t use it on those Sound-nin.  And you’re keeping it a secret from us.  You probably have your reasons, but it would have made the other day a lot less troublesome if you’d used it to fight instead of to block one of Sasuke’s punches.”  He waited then, watching Naruto.

“I couldn’t,” he said finally, forcing a smirk onto his features.  “It’s kinda complicated I guess, but you don’t need to worry about it.”  Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, as if waiting for further explanation.  When none came, he shrugged and raised his hands in surrender.

“Alright, suit yourself.  Thanks for talking.”  Naruto nodded and left the room swiftly, careful not to break into a run to get back up to the top floor.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Twenty-one genin stood at the center of a large stone room with raised catwalks on either side, facing a stage that was lined with jounin instructors and the Hokage at their center.  The exam was a mere minute from ending, and everybody was tense in the heavy silence.  The Sandaime kept his steady, calm gaze on them, the slightest hint of a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.  That last minute crawled by, but at least the doors behind them closed and Anko stepped forward from the ranks.

“Congratulations on passing the Second Exam,” she said evenly, though there was a touch of amusement in her voice.  “Hokage-sama will now give an explanation of the Third Exam.”  All eyes moved to watch him.

“Before I explain the details, there’s something you all need to know first,” he began, his normally reserved voice somehow carrying throughout the room with ease.  “That is, the true purpose of the Chuunin Exams.”  Nobody wanted to interrupt during his speech, but he could tell that their collective curiosity had been piqued.  “You have been told that the purpose of these exams is to encourage cooperation and good relation between the villages.  You have also been told that it is to determine which genin have earned the right to become a chuunin.  Only the lattermost reason is true.

“The Chuunin Exams originated as a place for conflicting nations to send their elite to battle, reducing the costliness of wars.  Instead of being decided by long, bloody battles, wars were decided by a select few shinobi from each village.  In these days of tentative peace, countries instead send their best genin to carry the dignity of their land; to fight, kill, and die for that dignity.  It is a measure of each country’s power, simply put.

“Powerful people from across the land will be attending the Third Exam to assess the strength of each nation.  These are clients for all nations, and as you would imagine the countries with a better showing at the exams will gain a larger clientele.”  If realization hadn’t dawned on the genin already, now it came flooding in.  Hiruzen smiled sadly before continuing, regretting that he had to be the one to bring the largely innocent youths into the real world.  Before he could speak again, Kiba finally broke the silence among the genin.

“Why do we have to fight each with our lives on the line?  People died in that forest!” he said loudly, and though not angry his words were pointed enough so that everybody could tell he was put off.

“A country’s strength is judged by the strength of its village.  A village’s strength comes from its ninja, and a ninja’s real strength can only be seen in a life-or-death battle.  Those of you that were pushed to your limits in the Forest of Death can attest to that.”  A brief, uncomfortable silence followed that statement; it had hit home for many of them.  “This exam is an introduction to the real world, and that is a world governed by the military power of the hidden villages.  We say that it promotes good relations because, in a way, fighting to maintain balance between villages _is_ good relation in the world of ninja.”

“I don’t care.” Everyone looked toward Gaara when he spoke, his chilling voice taking most of them by surprise.  “Just tell us the details of the next ‘life-or-death’ exam.”  The Hokage frowned slightly, and then nodded.

“Hayate.” At the Sandaime’s call, a man appeared in front of the dais, first kneeling in respect towards the Hokage before turning to regard the assembled teams.

“My name is Gekkou Hayate, and I will be the proctor for the preliminary matches.”

“Preliminary matches?” Sakura asked, her brow furrowing.

“Yes.  The Chuunin Exam’s regulations dictate that the number of examinees must be cut down to accommodate the requirements of the Third Exam.  As the Sandaime explained, there will be many people visiting from far away, and we will be limited on time.  As such, we cannot continue with the current number of examinees.  For the sake of saving time, please raise your hand if you do not feel up to continuing at this time.  From here on out we will have one-on-one matches, so your team will not be affected by your actions.”  Every sentence or two the jounin coughed a few times, sometimes violently.  There was an immediate rise in murmurs as he finished speaking, followed immediately by silence as a single hand raised into the air.

“Ano, I’d like to drop out,” Kabuto started with an embarrassed grin.  “I haven’t recovered enough to continue.”

“Konoha’s Yakushi Kabuto-kun.  You are dismissed.” Hayate said after a short bout of dry coughs.  After Kabuto turned and exited the room, he continued as if uninterrupted.  “Are there any others?”  Nobody else moved; the room was largely filled with defiant eyes.  “Then the Preliminary Exam will begin immediately.  They will be, as stated, one-on-one matches.  There are no rules.  You will fight until one of you dies, is knocked unconscious, or gives up.  However, I will stop a match that I deem as over in order to prevent unnecessary deaths.”

As Hayate finished his explanation, a large stone panel above the stage slid aside, revealing an electronic board.  He turned towards it and nodded, coughing a few more times before turning back.  “This board will display two randomly generated names, and as you would expect they will be the ones fighting.  If there are no objections, we will now announce the first match.”  Nobody said a word, and with a signal to Anko the board lit up.

The tension in the room rose to a peak as nearly every genin stopped breathing.  Golden letters flashed across the screen as it jumbled through names.  With a loud beep the sequence stopped, displaying two names in giant letters.

“The first match will be Akadou Yoroi verses Uchiha Sasuke.  Everybody except for the fighters will move to one of the platforms above to spectate.”

“Don’t win too fast,” Naruto grinned as he passed Sasuke.  “At least make it entertaining.”

“Good luck, Sasuke-kun,” Hinata offered sedately, joining hands with Naruto as they made their way to the stairs.  Sasuke gave them both a wave and a smirk before approaching Hayate.  Neither Yoroi nor his remaining teammate said a word.  He simply stepped forward to the proctor before turning to face Sasuke.

“Sasuke’s lucky to get to fight first,” Naruto sighed, leaning against the railing above the arena.  All of the genin and instructors from Konoha had taken to one of the raised catwalks; the teams from Suna and Oto occupied the one across the way.  “Now he gets to relax and watch the rest of the fights after he wins.”

“You are very confident in him,” Lee said from nearby, his eyes remaining on Sasuke.

“Of course I am.  Aren’t you confident in your team?” Naruto grinned and winked at him, eliciting a similar expression from the other boy.

“I suppose so,” he admitted, though he looked concernedly at the pair facing off.  “I don’t know anything about Yoroi, even though he is from our village.”

“Sasuke-kun won’t lose,” Hinata stated with firm conviction.  Naruto glanced at her and nodded, giving her hand a light squeeze before turning his attention to the ground floor.  Only Hayate and the two fighters remained.

Hayate looked to his right at Sasuke, who nodded to indicate that he was ready.  A look the opposite way showed that Yoroi was prepared as well.  Hayate took a few steps back and raised both hands to chest height, sweeping them down a moment later.  “Begin!”

 _Sorry, Naruto; I don’t know what this guy does.  If I just have fun with it I could end up making a mistake._   Sasuke didn’t move despite his reasoning, waiting to see what his opponent would do first.  Yoroi didn’t waste any time, forming a tiger seal immediately before throwing a fist of shuriken at Sasuke.  _Distraction._ The Uchiha’s eyes flashed crimson while the weapons were in flight, and a moment later both genin vanished.

Only the trained eyes in the room actually saw what happened.  Sasuke effortlessly dodged the shuriken, catching two of them even though his eyes were focused on Yoroi the whole time.  When the man all but disappeared in a blur of motion, Sasuke smirked and took a single step to the side, pivoting in the same motion to bring a round kick flying towards where he had just been standing.  Yoroi’s chakra-laced hand hit the ground previously occupied by his adversary, and an instant later Sasuke’s foot collided with the side of his head.  The stunned genin grunted and flew sideways with the force of the blow, smashing into the stone wall only a few meters away.  The shuriken Sasuke had caught came following immediately after, pinning Yoroi’s collar on either side so that he hung against the wall.

“Was that all?” Sasuke asked lazily amid the silence of the room.  Even Hayate was looking back and forth between the two genin, like he was confused about what he had just seen.  Naruto cheered from above, and if he had turned to look Sasuke would have seen Hinata beaming.  Hayate started to raise his hand to signal the end of the match when Yoroi coughed and stirred.

“I’m not done yet,” he groaned, shrugging both shoulders to dislodge the shuriken.  He landed heavily on his feet, swaying slightly and holding his head.  “Mostly because . . .” Sasuke froze as a hand fell on his shoulder, and the genin in front of him melted into a pool of water.  Yoroi’s voice continued in a sinister tone directly behind him.  “You’re the one that’s done.”

A burning sensation roiled within Sasuke, not enough to be too painful but enough to make him balk.  The moment he had sensed Yoroi behind him he had spun away, but not before the man had touched his shoulder.  In that fraction of a second Sasuke felt his chakra drain away; it wasn’t a significant amount, but enough to notice at least.  When his spin brought him around to face Yoroi, the man’s hand was glowing blue.  The mask covering his face made it hard to tell the expression beneath, but his sneering voice was enough to determine that.

“The Uchiha clan was always so full of hubris,” he mocked, crouching low.  “Too blind to see your own–” Yoroi stopped abruptly, his whole body tensing as he choked on his own words.  A moment later he fell limply to the ground, clearly unconscious.  Sasuke stood just behind him, looking bored with both hands shoved in his pockets.

Most of the genin were confused, though none of the jounin seemed surprised – a few even looked impressed.  From their point of view, Yoroi had started talking, and then Sasuke had casually walked up to his opponent.  The older genin had continued gloating at empty space, appearing not to even notice as Sasuke stepped behind him and delivered a hard chop to the back of his neck that rendered him unconscious.

“The winner of the first match is Uchiha Sasuke,” Hayate called after a brief coughing fit.  He had given it a few seconds to make sure that Yoroi wouldn’t get back up, but it was clear that Sasuke had outwitted him.

 _Well, he made it less boring on his own._   Sasuke sauntered away and up the stairs as a pair of medics came in and carried Yoroi out on a stretcher.  “Sorry it was so quick,” he smirked, leaning against the railing next to Hinata.  “I didn’t like hearing him talk.”

“Sasuke-kun,” Hinata whispered, glancing around.  “I thought you weren’t going to use genjutsu until the final round.”  He shrugged and seemed unconcerned.

“It was a really minor technique,” he reasoned, glancing past her to Naruto.  “I bet you didn’t even notice what was going on until halfway through.”

“Whatever,” Naruto grumbled, not willing to openly admit it.  Sasuke smirked again very slightly.  A few steps away Chouji was asking Asuma and Shikamaru why Yoroi had just let Sasuke win.  At least he hadn’t been the only one.

“We will now begin the next match.  Please step forward when your name appears on the board,” Hayate called to the room, turning to nod at Anko again.  The screen lit up and began cycling through names before stopping on ‘Zaku Abumi vs. Aburame Shino’.

Teams Seven and Ten both looked across the room, focusing on the group of Sound-nin.  Zaku still had his arm in a sling from the battle several days earlier, but seemed just as cocky as ever.  He vaulted the railing and landed lightly near Hayate, waiting impatiently as Shino made his way unhurriedly down the steps to meet him.

Their fight lasted only slightly longer than Sasuke’s.  After being blasted once with Zaku’s Air Cutter, Shino hardly had to move again as his kikaichu finished the battle for him.  When Zaku revealed that his right arm was well enough to use and subsequently tried to utilize his Air Cutter with both hands, his arms appeared to explode.  Shino calmly explained to Hayate that his parasitic insects had plugged the holes in Zaku’s hands, causing a chakra buildup that found violent outlets through his arms.  Shino ascended the stairs a minute later after knocking an enraged Zaku to the ground; Hayate declared the Aburame the victor.

“Way to go, Shino!” Kiba said loudly, followed by a cheer from Sakura.  “You showed him not to mess with Team Eight!”

“He merely underestimated his opponent and acted rashly.  I expect you two to do better than he.”  Sakura’s ecstatic expression faltered, and Kiba started glowering.  They both knew Shino well enough to know that he wasn’t trying to be cold; that’s just how he was.  That knowledge didn’t always make his words easier to take, though.

“The third match will be Tsurugi Misumi verses Kankurou.  Please step forward.”  Hayate seemed to want to hurry through the preliminary round; he wasn’t wasting any time between fights.  Kabuto’s remaining teammate took his place near Hayate, facing the Suna-nin.

At least Hayate was getting what he wanted out of the first few matches.  Misumi’s body had stretched and contorted around Kankurou, choking the boy until his neck snapped.  A few gasps from the Konoha side were quickly hushed as Kankurou’s body turned out to be a puppet, reversing the hold and crushing Misumi’s arms and ribcage in a single motion.  Hayate quickly declared the Sand genin the winner to avoid further injury.

“That was boring,” Kankurou sighed loudly enough for everybody to hear, wrapping his puppet back in its bandages and slinging it over his shoulder.

“Well now we know what he does,” Sasuke stated curiously, eyeing Kankurou as he paced back up to join Gaara and Temari.  “I’ve never seen a puppeteer before; the Marionette Technique is pretty interesting.”

“When do you think he switched places with his puppet?” Naruto asked, scratching his head.  “I didn’t see him use a replacement jutsu.”

“It must have been beforehand,” Hinata reasoned.  “So that nobody would be watching to take notice.  Even his team looked a little surprised.”  Naruto nodded, grinning slightly.

“Tricky guy, but I guess he planned ahead.”

“Next round: Haruno Sakura verses Yamanaka Ino.  Step forward please.”  The air seemed to crackle with tension as the two kunoichi locked eyes, both wearing determined expressions.

“This is going to be a boring match,” Neji sighed, leaning back against the wall as the girls moved down to take their places.  “Two female ninjas fighting, great.”

“Their being female has nothing to do with it; one of the Sannin is Tsunade, if you recall,” Tenten said sharply, narrowing her eyes at Neji before turning back to Sakura and Ino’s match.  “Sex doesn’t determine strength.  Those two just have a history, and probably won’t go all out.”  Lee glanced nervously at Tenten while Gai gave Neji a reproving look.

“Neji,” their sensei began, raising a fist in front of him.  His eyes were alight with the strange fanaticism he got whenever speaking on something he was passionate about.  “Tenten is right; a shinobi’s power is measured only by his or her determination!  Right, Lee?!”

“Yes, sensei!” Lee piped in, glowing with pride at his teacher’s wise words.  Naruto raised an eyebrow at their antics, and Sasuke shook his head tiredly.  Hinata, though, was smiling softly at Tenten.

Sakura and Ino started the fight soft as Tenten had predicted.  After a bout of taijutsu, though, they both donned their forehead protectors – the proper way – and went at one another seriously.  Sakura landed the first real blow after using clones to confuse Ino.  After feigning a bout of frustration during which she cut off her ponytail, Ino tricked Sakura into standing on the fallen locks.  The pink-haired kunoichi was stuck in place when her adversary channeled chakra into the hair, and subsequently hit Sakura with her Mind-Transfer jutsu.

“That’s strange,” Shikamaru said quietly, drawing Naruto’s attention from the fight.  “It should have ended there.  Why hasn’t Ino forced her to give up?”  Sakura’s hand was raised halfway, staring at Hayate with her mouth open.  Just like with Kin, Ino had taken possession of the girl’s mind.  But something was clearly wrong.  Her features were twisted in angry concentration; she couldn’t seem to lift her hand.

“Sakura’s pretty hard-headed,” Sasuke joked.  However, it appeared to be only a temporary road block for Ino.

“I give up,” Ino said calmly, using Sakura’s voice to convey the message.

“Ah.  The winner of this match is Yamanaka Ino,” Hayate hesitated, looking back and forth between them.  _I guess that is a valid tactic._   A moment later Ino released the technique and stood up, allowing Sakura to crumple to the ground, unconscious.  Ino skipped up to her teammates as Sakura was retrieved by Kurenai.

“Ah well,” Shikamaru grinned.  “I guess it wasn’t that hard.  Good job, Ino.”

“Hell yeah!  Now you two had better not lose!” She pumped her fist to emphasize her statement, and Shikamaru rolled his eyes, muttering something about how excitable women were.

“They have a lot of training to do,” Neji said blandly, shaking his head.  Tenten gave him a reproachful look, but couldn’t argue.  If that had been their best effort, it fell far short of most of the room.  At least Ino had outsmarted her opponent and used her abilities tactfully.  She turned towards the screen instead of responding, blinking a few times when she saw her name pop up above Temari’s.

“Great, just my luck,” she mumbled.  Despite his outward attitude Neji winced and looked genuinely apologetic.  Gai’s expression was grave, but he wished his student the best of luck before she moved to the ground floor.

“What’s up?” Naruto asked, looking from Temari, to Tenten, to Gai.  “Why’s she so worried?”

“It’s just speculation,” Neji said quietly, watching as the Suna kunoichi joined Tenten below.  “But that girl from the Sand uses a giant battle fan.  Tenten’s specialty is using weaponry, primarily ranged ones.  If that Temari girl uses wind attacks as part of her repertoire, Tenten doesn’t stand much of a chance.”

“Can’t she just get into close quarters?” Sasuke asked, but it was Shikamaru who shook his head this time.

“If she’s smart, Temari won’t let her close the gap.  All she needs to do is keep her distance and batter Tenten with augmented ninjutsu.  I’m sure Tenten knows that, but there’s not much she can do about it.”  Naruto frowned, but he understood.  Hinata bit her lip and looked worriedly to Tenten as the match was about to start.  They both liked Tenten; she was always nice and cheerful, and had helped them a lot with their training.  She had even worked with them a few times since spending the four days training together, helping them practice more with weapons.

Unfortunately, the skirmish went as Neji and Shikamaru had predicted.  Tenten went through half a dozen weapon scrolls without a single projectile landing.  Kunai, kama, short swords, and a variety of other weapons lay scattered in a circle around Temari by the time she was through.  The blonde girl had hardly moved, only using her fan to brush the weapons aside like flies.

“Didn’t think that would work,” Tenten sighed, landing from another of her attacks.  “But let no tactic go untested.”  Temari’s eyes narrowed as her adversary rushed forward.  A scroll shot out in front of Tenten, and a pair of heavy spiked tonfas appeared in small puffs of smoke.  She caught them without missing a step, rolling to the side as a rush of wind sped towards her.  She clashed with Temari a second later, trying to use her speed and rapidly changing weaponry to her advantage.  Tonfas clattered to the ground in favor of kamas, followed quickly by morning stars.

“Useless,” Temari sighed, dodging back effortlessly amid the onslaught.  Every blow not deflected by her fan’s metal guard was avoided.  When one of the maces caught on her fan and sent sparks flying in her face, she growled and sent a blast of wind at Tenten’s torso.  In the same instant the head of the mace detached and shattered, sending its spikes flying in every direction as Tenten careened backwards.  Temari cursed as a few buried into her shoulder; one grazed her cheek and left a long bloody mark behind.

“You bitch!” she yelled, taking up her fan with both hands and opening it fully.  Tenten rolled to her feet as Temari’s jutsu was almost upon her, following a cry of “Ninpou: Whirlwind!”  A torrent of air spiraled upward, catching Tenten inside and tearing at her with chakra-laced wind.  Temari walked slowly, angrily forward, planting her folded fan on the ground and waiting.  A few seconds later Tenten tumbled out of the gale, and Temari caught her cruelly on the end of her fan.  Blood spattered the floor as Tenten gasped before going limp, her back bent painfully over the massive weapon.

“Winner: Temari,” Hayate announced a moment later.  “Allow a few minutes to clean the floor of weapons before announcing the next match.”

“Tsk, trash kunoichi,” Temari fumed, shoving her fan hard and sending Tenten through the air.  She would have landed amid the weapons somewhere, which had likely been the Suna-nin’s intention, but a green blur caught Tenten before she hit the ground, sliding back and easing her down instead.

“Nice catch,” she stated dryly at Lee.  He was still kneeling beside his fallen teammate, and it was the first time Naruto had ever seen him look legitimately angry.

“Why did you do that?  Tenten fought her best against an opponent ill-suited for her abilities.”  Lee was on his feet now, his fists clenched and shaking.

“Shut up,” Temari droned, turning to walk casually away.  “Take your garbage and leave.”  Lee’s eyes burned with hate, but before he could go after her Gai appeared behind him, placing a hand firmly on his shoulder.

“Lee, do not be tempted into violence,” he said quietly, eyes on Temari.  “However,” Gai continued, offering a mirthless grin to the members of the Sand above.  “Gentlemen of the Sand, I will warn you that he is strong.  You had best be prepared.”  Kankurou blanched slightly, but Gaara looked intrigued.  Temari continued walking as if she hadn’t heard, rejoining her team as the medic-nin rushed in to take Tenten to the infirmary.

“That was . . . terrible,” Hinata breathed, overt concern written all over her features.  Naruto and Sasuke nodded, their gazes hard on the trio of Sand-nin across the way.

“They’re an unpleasant bunch,” Kakashi agreed quietly, studying Gaara.  _I only hope that none of you has to fight the last one._   His eye flicked to Naruto for a second before moving to the electronic board.  _Except for Naruto, perhaps, but it’s too early for him to reveal the Kyuubi’s chakra._

The weapons were cleared out in short order by a few chuunin, and Hayate’s voice called out as soon as they had exited the room.  “Please step forward as your name is displayed,” he repeated in a dull tone, turning to regard the screen like the rest of the room.  Seconds later ‘Nara Shikamaru vs. Kin Tsuchi’ appeared.

“Why’s her name backwards?” Naruto pondered allowed, squinting at the letters.  “Do you think that was an accident?”

“Beats me,” Shikamaru shrugged, trundling off towards the stairs.  “I just hope she’s as overconfident as her friends, or this could be troublesome.”  _I hate fighting girls._   He stepped up in front of Kin amid a continuous stream of cheers from Ino, to which he sighed and waved a hand noncommittally.

Their match lasted no longer than the first few.  As Shikamaru had hoped, Kin was too confident in her own abilities.  It took less than a minute for him to snare her.  Unseen to even the spectators he had stretched his shadow so thin that she had mistaken it for the shadow of the wires attached to her needles.  In short order he simply leaned her straight back, striking her head against the wall and knocking her out cold.

“How troublesome,” he grumbled, shuffling back up to the rest amid another round of exuberance.

“Winner: Nara Shikamaru.”  Hayate gave the same instructions to regard the screen, and the board lit up to scramble the names again.  Naruto’s eyebrows went up as his name showed on the board, followed below by ‘Inuzuka Kiba’.

“Er.  Good luck, Kiba,” he laughed, rubbing at the back of his neck.  Kiba scowled and stalked away down the stairs.  Shino calmly wished him the same, and Sakura echoed him in a defeated tone.  She had been gloomy since her fight with Ino had ended.

“Good luck, Naruto-kun,” Hinata said with a small smile, squeezing his hand once before letting it go.  He grinned and gave her a thumbs-up before starting after Kiba.

“Don’t make it too boring,” Sasuke smirked from behind him.  Naruto flashed another grin back at him before trotting down the stairs.  “So, Sakura,” he continued casually, keeping his eyes on the arena.  “Do you like barbeque or seafood better?”  The downtrodden girl looked up and blinked at him a few times.  Sakura simpered a moment later, and Hinata couldn’t help but smile as well.  Sasuke really was a nice person.

“I love seafood,” Sakura responded quickly, flushing a little.  Sasuke only nodded thoughtfully and continued watching Naruto’s progress to the arena floor, but he was glad to note out of the corner of his eye that she had stopped sulking.

“I’m not gonna go easy on you, Naruto,” Kiba growled quietly, followed by an affirmative bark from Akamaru.

“I wouldn’t want you to,” Naruto shrugged, dropping into a taijutsu stance.  _Can’t show off any abilities; have to make it as quick as possible._

**_And none of my chakra, like we agreed._ **

_Right._

**_Even if you have to lose._ **

_Wait, wha_ _–_

“Begin!” Hayate leapt back at the shout, and Kiba rushed forward to engage.

Kiba’s taijutsu was decent; his stance and form were different than what Naruto was used to, but not difficult to keep up with.  His speed, however, ranked up with Sasuke’s and threatened to catch Hinata’s at points.  Naruto silently thanked his friends for all of the times they’d sparred together.

 _I’m not going to be able to win purely with taijutsu,_ he lamented, more to himself than the Kyuubi.  The fox, however, thought it prudent to respond.

 ** _That’s a surprise,_** he jeered.  **_The one-trick ninja has to use ninjutsu too.  Kiba has an extremely sensitive nose; why don’t you just pass gas?_**

 _What?  No way! I’m not doing something so dumb.  And shut up_ _– you know what I meant.  I’m going to have to show more than I wanted to._   The Kyuubi only cackled at him, and the deep rumbling sound nearly distracted him enough to take a hit.  Naruto jumped back, and mid-flight formed his hand seal.  _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu._ Five clones fanned out as he slid to a halt, moving to surround Kiba and charge in.

“Four Legs Technique,” Kiba growled, dropping onto all fours as the clones reached him.  “Passing Fang!”  Five clouds of smoke temporarily hid the boy as the bunshin were destroyed, but a moment later he flew from the haze in a spiraling blur, arching towards Naruto at an incredible speed.  Naruto barely managed to roll out of the way and Kiba rebounded off the ground, tearing deep gouges into the stone floor.

 _Fast, strong; close-quarters specialist,_ Naruto listed off, not expecting help but just taking mental note.  He was still getting used to analyzing abilities in the midst of combat.  _It’s going to be hard to hit him with ninjutsu if he’s moving around like that, too.  Genjutsu would be my best option, but . . ._ He silently cursed his lack of ability in that area.

 ** _Think about a technique that won’t require you to hit him directly.  I know for a fact you can do one._**   Naruto thought hard as he jumped to the side to avoid another attack.  Before he had landed, however, another spiral detached from Kiba and rushed towards him, catching him off guard and slamming him into the wall.  The air rushed from Naruto’s lungs on impact, and he barely managed to stay standing.

 _What . . ._ Kiba whirled to a halt at the center of the arena, still on all fours and offering a feral grin.  A _second_ Kiba landed next to him, mimicking his low stance and snarling.

“Don’t let up, Akamaru!” the first called, leaping forward and resuming his spin.  The second Kiba growled and did the same, both of them coming towards Naruto at breakneck speeds.

 _Great, his dog can transform into him._   Naruto backflipped, twisting in mid-air and landing on the wall.  He channeled more chakra into the soles of his feet and pushed off hard, thrusting down with a kunai as he flew over the twin spirals.  The weapon was torn from his hand by the sheer force of the movements, but both Kiba and Akamaru collided with the wall a moment later.  Naruto landed in a balanced stance on the other side, eyes sharp as dust filled the air from the impact.

“Ow,” Kiba winced as he and the transformed Akamaru stumbled from the ruined wall.  “Can you not dodge next time?” he whined in obvious jest, shaking his head and crouching again.  He said something quietly to Akamaru, who nodded and flanked wide around Naruto.  “Sorry, Naruto; I don’t want this match going too long.  I know you’ll win if I drag it out.”  Without another word he tossed something small and black into the air, winding up and throwing another to Akamaru directly after.  He caught the first in his mouth on its way down, crunching down once before swallowing.  And then things got hectic.

Naruto felt a surge of chakra from both Kiba and Akamaru, and then the blue energy began leaking rapidly into the air around them.  _Soldier pills.  Two can play at th – wait, Sasuke has them still.  Damnit._

 ** _Idiot.  You have more chakra than him even with that gimmick.  Just release more of it._**   As usual, the advice came as a scathing remark, but Naruto had long since learned to take it in stride.

_If I do that, I could seriously hurt Kiba._

**_Kid, give me a break.  This exam is meant to pit you against your peers, and the fights are to the death.  You could have been fighting your girlfriend, you know._**   The thought chilled a little more reason into Naruto, and he was suddenly grateful to be fighting Kiba.  The last of his apprehension faded as the Kyuubi rolled its eyes at him.  **_Just end it quick so you don’t hurt him too bad, you pathetic oaf._**

Naruto didn’t have time for a retort.  Kiba and Akamaru were rushing towards him faster than before, their afterimages blurring along behind.  Before they returned to their ‘Fang Passing Fang’ technique, they both hurled a small indigo orb at Naruto’s feet.  The area erupted in thick purple smoke, and a moment later the barrage of attacks tore through it at Naruto.

 _Damnit,_ he ground out in his mind, guarding his head as the unseen onslaught began to batter him.  _A technique I don’t have to aim that’ll stop_ _– damn I am slow._ Naruto’s hands lowered and raced through seals as a whirlwind clipped his head, knocking his hitai-ate loose; a trickle of blood started down the side of his head a moment later.  _Doton: Rock Shell!_   The tile stones below erupted in a circle, flowing around him and forming a solid dome in a tortoiseshell pattern.

**_About time.  Now hurry up and gather your chakra._ **

_You know, I appreciate your help and all, but would it kill you to be less of an asshole?_   The Kyuubi laughed as he dropped to the ground in the darkness, folding his legs and concentrating.  It wasn’t often that he employed the bulk of his chakra pool for his taijutsu, but the last time he had done it Sasuke had ended up seriously battered.  _Wish I had enough chakra to do this against the Sound last time,_ he grumbled.  The inside of the shell began to glow even as it cracked from Kiba’s continuous attacks.

Up in the stands, Hinata shivered, then glanced at Sasuke.  “Is he . . . ?”

“Yeah, feels like it.”  Sasuke smirked, and Sakura raised a curious eyebrow before speaking up.

“What is it?  It looks like Kiba’s winning,” she said, sounding perplexed.

“You’ll see,” Sasuke said placidly.  “You’ll feel it first, though.”  Sakura wasn’t quite sure what he was talking about until she did feel it.  A massive chakra presence at the center of the smokescreen was growing larger by the second, and a moment later Kiba and Akamaru retreated from the fog.  They glanced warily at one another before turning their attention back to the smoke.

The haze had begun drifting apart on its own, forced away at the center by an invisible force.  Naruto’s small stone dome was now clearly visible to the room, and though it had sustained major damage it was still intact.  A vibrant blue light was shining through the cracks.

All at once the rock shattered outward, the earthen shards flying in every direction.  The only thing Kiba and his partner could do fast enough was guard their faces, a few pieces slicing past or into them.  When they lowered their arms both sets of Kiba’s eyes widened, staring at Naruto.

Brilliant blue chakra swirled and leapt around the blond like living fire, giving his hair an odd green tint.  While he and his friends had noted that it wasn’t nearly as strong of a boost as the Kyuubi’s chakra, it was substantial, and also doubled as intimidation.  It may not come with the same power, but it was definitely more of a spectacle.  A few of the jounin shared the genin’s collective awe, staring at the boy in disbelief.

 _He might have as much chakra as me,_ Kakashi mused, his one eye shimmering in the blue light.  _It wasn’t nearly as strong last time did this._ He raised a hand to lift his hitai-ate from his Sharingan, focusing it on Naruto.  Sasuke saw him and his smirk widened; he wouldn’t be able to follow Naruto’s movements either if not for his own Sharingan.

Naruto wasted no time in creating a single Shadow Clone, which copied every detail down to the roiling chakra.  The energy died down some as he did so, but it still burned bright on both of them.  He grinned and leaned forward, winking sideways at his bunshin.

“Bet I knock mine out before you get yours,” he challenged.  The clone grinned back and, turning its attention to his adversary, charged at the same instant Naruto started forward.  Stone buckled beneath their feet in a thunderous crack, and tiles tore backwards as the two of them vanished.  Almost in the same instant Kiba and Akamaru flew back and crashed into the far wall with enough force to create two sizable dents in the stone.  Naruto and his clone were left standing where Kiba had been; his leg was drawing back from a straight side kick, and the bunshin was withdrawing its fist from a simple punch.  _Sucks that I had to show that off, but at least I didn’t go too far with it._  The chakra surrounding the two of them flickered out, and after an enthusiastic high-five the clone dispersed.

Hayate finished blinking dust out of his eyes and looked down the length of the room at where Kiba and Akamaru had hit.  The latter was back in his small canine form, lying limp on the ground.  Kiba was hunched forward and clearly unconscious, still stuck in the miniature crater from his impact.  Blood was dripping steadily from his mouth and staining the floor beneath him.  When he remained stationary for a few seconds longer, Hayate coughed and raised a hand.

“Winner: Uzumaki Naruto.” Instead of leaving the floor, Naruto rushed forward to check on Kiba, lowering him slowly to the ground next to Akamaru.  Thankfully the boy sputtered after a few seconds, coughing up a little more blood before inching one eye open.

“Damnit,” he wheezed, straining to look to his side.  “Is Akamaru alright?”

“He’s fine, I think; probably just a few broken ribs like you.  Sorry,” Naruto said guiltily.  “I wasn’t trying to hurt either of you.”  Kiba managed a weak laugh that turned into a fit of coughs.  He spoke again after he stopped, closing his eye again and taking in shallow, sharp breaths.

“Don’t mention it,” he winced.  “I’d have done the same . . . If I could have.”  Naruto still felt bad when the medical team arrived to take Kiba away, but the words helped a little.  As far as he could tell from his clone’s memory its punch had landed just below the ribcage, so Akamaru shouldn’t have suffered much damage outside of the impact with the wall.

“Nice one,” Sasuke said evenly, turning to greet him as he came back up.  “You were a little rough with Kiba, though; your clone didn’t hit Akamaru nearly as hard.”

“Yeah,” Naruto sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck again.  “I misjudged the distance.  I meant to end up closer and push him with the kick instead, but I stopped short and he got the full impact instead.”  Every other genin and instructor was looking at him with either an expression of disbelief or one of clear acknowledgement.

“You’re hurt,” Hinata said after a moment, moving to him and placing a hand on the side of his head.  Before she could even start channeling her chakra Naruto took her hand and lowered it gently.  Her lips parted in surprise, and she was about to speak again when Naruto shook his head.

“You still have a match to go, Hinata-chan.  Save your chakra, just in case.  I’ll use some gauze and bandages, and besides they’re just small cuts and bruises.” He smiled reassuringly, and after biting her lip for a few seconds she nodded and pulled a roll of medical tape from her belt pouch.  She helped him to quickly bandage the worst of the cuts on his arms, face, and neck; the lighter ones were already starting to close on their own.

“The next match will be announced shortly after the repairs to the arena; please stay alert if you have yet to fight,” Hayate called out.  Two chuunin were out in front of him, using earth techniques to fix the ground that Naruto and Kiba had torn up before moving to the damaged walls.

“Naruto-kun,” Lee ventured after Hinata finished with the last bandage.  “I’ve never seen you use that technique before.  Why didn’t you use it when sparring with me?”  Naruto raised an eyebrow, then shrugged.

“I’m sure all of you have abilities we didn’t see,” he replied.  “I mean, Tenten didn’t use an exploding mace on me any time we fought, right?” Neji scowled and rubbed at his cheek as if remembering an unfortunate incident with the same weapon.  Lee nodded slowly and grinned.

“You’re right.  We have yet to see each other’s true strength!”  Naruto laughed at the older genin’s enthusiasm, but it was close enough to what he had been trying to say.  He stretched and lowered his hand reflexively to Hinata’s, who gripped his own tightly as the screen above came to life.

“Hinata,” Naruto started, so quietly that only she and Sasuke would hear.  “If you’re matched against Gaara or Neji . . .” She lowered her gaze and nodded; she knew what he was going to tell her.  They were both out of her league, and she knew it.  “Make sure you go all out and beat the crap out of them.” Hinata looked up, startled at his words.

“But, Naruto-kun . . .” She was interrupted by the electronic board, which had finally landed on two names.  Her whole body tensed, and her breath caught in her throat.  Hinata’s grip on Naruto’s hand threatened to cut off his circulation, but she couldn’t help it.  She was terrified.  Neji smirked and shook his head, walking silently past them to the stairs.

“Hyuuga Hinata verses Hyuuga Neji.”

“Calm down, Hinata,” Sasuke said in an undertone, watching Neji as he began to descend from the platform.  “You can beat him.”

“You’re strong, Hinata-chan, a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for.  You’ve trained with me and Sasuke for years, and we both know you can do it.”  Sasuke nodded at Naruto’s assertion, though he kept his eyes forward.  She looked between the two of them, and after a long moment exhaled and shivered visibly.  Her hold on Naruto’s hand relaxed as her eyes closed.

 _They’re right.  Maybe I wasn’t a match for him before, but I can do it now.  I can._   She kept that as her mantra as she broke her hand away from Naruto’s, but before she could take a step away he stepped forward and hugged her tightly.  The action caused her normal demeanor to rush back, and she turned red an instant later.

“Be safe,” he whispered.  Hearing the same words she had given him days earlier almost caused her to tear up.  She returned the embrace fiercely, though it was brief.  She was walking purposefully after Neji a moment later, her head held high and determination written on her features.  Only the slightest traces of apprehension were visible about her eyes, but it was enough for Neji to notice the moment she took her place in front of him.

“Hinata-sama,” Neji started before Hayate could begin the match.  The jounin hesitated, then lowered his hand without calling for them to begin.  “I’m surprised to be fighting you, but I suppose it’s fate.  The branch family was always made to do the head family’s dirty work.  It looks like I’m meant to take care of its outcast.”  Hinata kept her eyes on his, and though he could sense her nervous energy, she appeared to be collected and ready.  He continued, pressing her harder.  “You haven’t changed at all from before.  You’re still as frail and weak as when Hiashi-sama threw you out.  You’re a disgrace to the Hyuuga name.  You–”

“Neji-niisan,” Hinata interrupted quietly, but with a firm tone.  Neji stopped and blinked at her a few times, clearly taken aback.  She lowered into her modified jyuken stance before taking a deep breath and speaking again, her voice calm.  “I am no longer the same as I once was.  People can change, and I will prove it to you here.”

Neji’s mouth was agape and he was staring at her in disbelief.  He had hardly seen Hinata in the months following her expulsion, but even in the four days they had been forced to train together she had been withdrawn.  When Gai had made them spar together she had fallen far short of him on every front; she hadn’t hit a single one of his or anybody else’s tenketsu either.  Who was _she_ to speak that way to him?

“Instructor,” he said, addressing Hayate with feigned calm.  “Try to stop the match before she dies.” Neji dropped into his stance a moment later, waiting.  Hayate eyed him, looking a tad annoyed, then raised his hand again.

“Begin!”

From the outset they both knew what this match would be.  Plain and simple, it was a contest between jyuken users, between Hyuuga households, and between Byakugan.  Both of their white eyes were lined with the faux pupil created by their kekkei genkai, accented further by the numerous veins all around.  Those eyes stared into one another as they clashed at the center of the room, and neither bothered with illusory or ninja techniques.

Hinata took Naruto’s words to heart, and from the beginning she moved with every ounce of alacrity and precision that she possessed.  Chakra flashed in every direction as she deflected Neji’s attacks, her own turned only a hair’s breadth off of their target through his defense.  The dull mutterings around the arena ceased as all eyes focused on the frenzied dance in the middle of the room.  It was like watching two bolts of lightning fight: beautiful and deadly.

At one point they clashed, perfectly mirroring one another as they came in to strike.  Neji’s fingertips struck Hinata’s shoulder at the same instant hers did the same.  A swath of chakra flooded over each of their shoulders, and for a long moment they stayed locked like that, breathing hard.  Then Neji smirked, lifting his free arm and pulling back Hinata’s sleeve.  Several red, circular welts dotted her forearm, and he smiled mirthlessly when he saw.

“You’re outmatched, Hinata-sama.  My Byakugan can see your tenketsu.”  Despite his words, Hinata seemed unshaken, as if she had known that those points had been hit all along.  Rather than respond verbally, she lifted her own free hand and tugged his short sleeve back to the shoulder.  His eyes widened when he saw the same marks on all around his upper arm and shoulder.  “When did you . . .?”

“There are more,” Hinata said tersely, sliding away from him and sinking again into her stance.  “You are not the only one who can see them, Neji-niisan.  Do not underestimate me.”  Her words seemed to irk Neji more than the fact that he had just been shown up by the Hyuuga outcast.  His eyes narrowed, and with a frustrated grunt he sped forward to reengage.

“They’re evenly matched . . .” Gai said slowly, staring openly.  “That girl is keeping up with Neji.  Kakashi, when did she learn to see tenketsu?  Neji sparred with her only two weeks ago.”

“She’s been able to since before I took them as students,” Kakashi shrugged.  “It’s likely a result of training every day in the academy.  She’s made more progress in the last few months than either of these two as well.”  Naruto grinned fiercely, though kept his eyes fixed on the fight below; Sasuke gave an approving nod and did the same.  Gai stared at them, shook his head, and looked worriedly back to Hinata and Neji.  Lee seemed unable to speak, eyes wide as he focused on the fight.

The tone of the skirmish changed abruptly as Neji leapt back, his breathing labored and his expression strained.  Hinata appeared just as winded, but she met his gaze and waited as calmly as she could manage.

 _This shouldn’t be happening.  She isn’t this strong; it has to be a trick._   His mind worked itself into knots trying to figure it out, but he simply couldn’t.  Nobody could change that much in such a short time; nobody could change that much period.  _You were not born to be great.  You were not meant to be a shinobi at all._ Cutting his mental tirade short, Neji leaned into a familiar stance, and Hinata stiffened.

“Hakke: Sixty-Four Palms!” Neji growled as he sped forward.  This would take care of her; he was sure of it.  His eyes went wide, however, when she eased back into an unknown stance.

“Shugohakke: Sixty-Four Palms!” Hinata cried.  Neji might have had time to be surprised if he wasn’t already driving the first two strikes towards her.  They were both turned aside by his adversary in two smooth motions.  The next four met a similar end, missing their marks by only a fraction of a centimeter.  Neji grew increasingly frustrated as the next eight missed, and then every one of the subsequent sixteen.  Only a single tenketsu out of the next thirty-two was struck, but it was enough to make Hinata falter.  She turned the error into a clean backbend, allowing half a dozen strikes to fly above her until she regained her balance and deflected the rest.

Neji halted upon his technique’s completion, frozen in shock with both arms still out.  Hinata was much more worn out than he was, but she had managed to avoid all but one of the one hundred and twenty-six strikes.  All but one.

“Figures the one she misses hits her near a vital organ,” Sasuke muttered, gripping the railing tighter than he intended.  Hinata staggered back slightly, managing to keep her feet.  A trickle of blood was running down from the corner of her mouth.  “Lung, probably; her breathing is too short to be caused by exhaustion alone.”  His Sharingan shimmered as he clenched his teeth.  Naruto put a hand on his shoulder for a second before speaking clearly.

“Something like that won’t stop Hinata.”  Naruto said it with such conviction that even Kakashi looked down at him.  “She finally mastered that technique too, remember?”

“Hakke: Sixty-Four Palms!” Hinata gasped, blurring forward to begin her own sequence.  Neji braced himself, letting out a curse as he was forced to twist to avoid the first two hits.  “Four strikes!” His eyes went wide as two of the blows struck tenketsu, and he could feel the chakra flow cease.  “Eight strikes!”

 _This can’t be,_ he panicked. _She isn’t this strong._   A very small, but very real part of his mind reasoned that she was.  He ground his teeth, and in that moment decided it was time to end the match.  Midway through the next series – half of which hit home – he made his move.

“Hakkeshou: Revolving Heaven!” The air crackled around Neji as he spun, and in the space between one of Hinata’s strikes and the next she was thrown backwards in a violent whirlwind of chakra.  A veritable dome of pure chakra surrounded Neji, and his rapid spinning created an arching slice in the stone floor.  When he slid to a halt a few seconds later, he was standing in the middle of a small crater created entirely by his own explosive chakra.  Hinata lay still on the floor a few meters away.

“That,” Neji breathed, still panting from the exertion, “Is the difference in skill between us, Hinata-sama.”

“Hinata . . .” Naruto whispered, stunned gaze fixed on his fallen friend.  Sasuke’s eyes were hard on Neji, and Kakashi sighed behind them.

“Neji is a genius of the Hyuuga clan,” Lee said gravely, closing his eyes for a moment.  “Hinata-san is strong, but he is . . . stronger?” He opened his eyes, then blinked several times to make sure he was comprehending the scene correctly.  Hinata was slowly standing, and though her arms were shaking as she did so she pushed herself from the ground determinedly.

“I . . . I hit enough of your tenketsu,” Hinata coughed, more blood trickling to her chin.  “That won’t be enough to finish me, Neji-niisan.” Despite her apparently confident statement, she was entirely unsure of herself.  Hinata had only heard of that technique, but it was just as formidable as it had been touted to be.  It was a defense that nothing could get through.  Unless . . . _The blind spot._   Though she had mostly matched her cousin’s speed, his experience granted him a larger chakra pool and increased arsenal of abilities.  She was already feeling drained, having expended plenty of chakra on her jyuken strikes with the two taxing techniques on top.  Her only chance was exploiting their doujutsu’s one weak point.  It was time to break from tradition.

Hinata’s hands flashed into seals before she slammed her palm into the ground, causing the stones to buckle directly underneath.  “Doton: Earth Rupture!” Neji flipped back as the ground was devoured, narrowly avoiding the ability.  Midflight, however, he was hit by a burst of wind from another jutsu that sent him skidding off course.  By the time he saw the kunai, it was nearly too late.

Neji tumbled to across the ground, leaving a trail of red behind him.  Hinata was no longer where she had been.  She landed heavily and dropped to one knee, gasping in breath and clutching her side.  Those who might have followed her movements would have seen her releasing the Gale Palm technique, then breaking it off early to disappear in a blur of speed.  She threw the kunai even before she had stopped moving so that Neji wouldn’t have been able to see it coming, and that had been her goal.

“You . . .” he snarled, shaking in pain and anger alike as he forced himself from the ground.  Hinata froze as he did so, eyes going wide.  The knife had missed its mark and dug into his upper back below the shoulder.  “If I hadn’t shifted my weight at the last possible instant . . . I could have died.”  Hinata clenched her jaw and shook her head weakly.

“Only unconscious,” Hinata breathed, the icy grip of fear threatening to take her.  She had aimed her kunai to hit next to the spinal column, and it had been that slightest degree of difference that had allowed Neji to dodge.  He spat out a cold laugh at that, swaying slowly to his feet.

“So you missed on purpose so that you wouldn’t risk killing me.  You really are . . .” He winced, clutching at his shoulder.  “You’re weak.”  For a few seconds those words raked at Hinata, but only for that short time before she forced them away.

“You’re wrong, Neji-niisan.  I am not the same as I was before,” she repeated with as much fervor as she could manage.  It came out frail, but the tone held.  Neji ground his teeth once again and took a step forward.  Hinata coughed and blood spattered across the ground, but to the entire room’s awe she found her way painfully to her feet once more.  That alone seemed to enrage Neji further, and he took the last few steps at a run.

The ensuing combat happened fast, though not as rapidly as the first encounter.  Both genin were exhausted, though only one was forced to fight with a punctured lung.  But Hinata held her ground and put everything she had into those final seconds.  Neji saw an opening at the same instant that she did, and they both went for it.  Hinata forced every ounce of chakra she had left into that last attack.  Two brilliant bursts of chakra flared out behind each of them, and then everything went quiet.

Neji’s palm was pressed against Hinata’s heart, and her hand was trembling near his own.  He wore a triumphant smirk for the briefest moment before he tensed and lurched backwards, falling to one knee.  Blood spilled from his mouth as he coughed, and his hands began to shake.  Hinata, though, was falling.  She hit the ground a breath later, whimpered once, and became very still.  Her form’s only motion came from extremely shallow breathing that seemed to be getting weaker by the second.

An instant later Neji’s killer intent spiked, and Hayate took a step back at the sudden intensity.  The two genin had fought their way across the room, and he wouldn’t be able to react fast enough if the boy did something rash.  “Hyuuga Hinata appears unable to continue.  Hyuuga Neji is the winner.  The fight is over,” he called sharply, but Neji wasn’t listening.

Neji reached back and tore the kunai loose from his shoulder with a grunt, staggering forward.  It wasn’t difficult to determine his objective.  The guard rail where Naruto and Sasuke had been standing crunched as it bent inward, and before anybody could blink Neji was being held in place by Kakashi, Gai, Lee, and Sasuke.  Nobody registered the orange comet that had arrived first, but whatever the light had been it was gone now.  Naruto was at Hinata’s side, cradling her head in one hand and cupping her cheek with the other.

“Hinata-chan,” he said gently, fighting down his fury and flooding dread.  “Hinata-chan, can you hear me?”  A long, tense moment passed before she moaned weakly.  Her eyelashes fluttered until her eyes were half-lidded, unfocused as they looked up at Naruto.

“Naruto . . . kun?” He smiled down at her and nodded, a few unbidden tears falling on her face.  Hinata blinked slowly, bleary and confused.  “Why’re you so . . . sad?  I promise I . . . I did my best . . .” She closed her eyes again, consciousness once again slipping away.

“You did great,” Naruto said softly, wiping at his eyes.  “You were amazing, Hinata-chan.” He held her like that until the medics arrived a few seconds later, explaining quickly to them what had happened.  It was likely they were fully aware, but it made Naruto feel a little better.  As they prepared to take her to the infirmary he turned to Kakashi, who was just stepping back from Neji.  The boy was on the ground now, breathing hard and wincing at every movement.  “Kakashi-sensei, you can tell me about the rest of the matches later.  I’m going with Hinata.”

“Naruto, you can’t–” he started, but Sasuke cut him off.

“I’m going too.  I dare you to tell us we can’t go with her.” Sasuke’s voice was so low and vicious that Kakashi almost took a step back on instinct.  Lee nodded, and Gai placed a hand on Kakashi’s shoulder.

“Let them go, Kakashi.  Their fires of youth burn brightest together.” He said it in a way so matter of fact that, despite its odd presentation nobody questioned what he meant.  The blond smiled slightly at the eccentric jounin before running after the stretcher, keeping pace all the way out the door with Sasuke at his side.  “Those three are impressive,” Gai said as they departed, eyes on the door.  Neji was retrieved a few seconds later by a separate medical team, though neither he nor Lee offered to accompany them.

“They surprise me more every day,” Kakashi sighed, running his hand through his silvery hair.  “They’re the epitome of what a good team should be, and I’m lucky to have them.”

“And they’re lucky to have you,” Gai pointed out with a broad grin, slapping his old friend on the back.  The friendly gesture made Kakashi cough and stagger forward a step, eliciting a bark of laughter from the other man.

As Kakashi led the way back to the balcony, he glanced back to the door that his team had disappeared behind as he.  A small smile creased the corners of his eyes, and he tugged his forehead protector down with an accompanying shake of his head.  _Well done, Team Seven.  Incredibly, undeniably well done._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here I promised myself that I wouldn’t write a chapter longer than ‘Precious People’. So much for that!
> 
> First and foremost, hello again and thank you for taking the time to read through this monolith of a chapter. I know, I know; ‘Wes, the same preliminary matchups?!’ Well yes, for a lot of reasons. But primarily I thought that, with the trio’s growth, it would be a great chance to show how different they are now as compared to canon at the same point. Hinata was my favorite to write in that regard, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
> 
> Three notes before you bombard me with the angries: Tenten’s fight changed a bit from canon because, to put it bluntly, I don’t like how Tenten’s character was developed in canon at all. That is to say, she had none. In this AU I will build her character more, beginning with the fact that she’s intelligent enough to change tactics when one strategy is failing. Secondly, Ino won her fight because Naruto didn’t cheer Sakura on, plain and simple. Sakura states pretty explicitly that it was because of him that she broke out of the technique. Same thing as the 20 teams vs. 26 teams thing in chapter 10. Lastly, Naruto’s comment about Kin’s name is purely for fun. I noticed that her name is reverse the normal scheme (either that or they call her by her last name, for whatever reason), and so I had him point it out for giggles.
> 
> Thanks a whole lot to Rhi for reading and editing through this chapter (twice; we beta thoroughly!). She effectively had to go through 30k+ words just for this chapter. She’s the best.
> 
> Thank you all for the follows, favorites, and especially the reviews. As I always say, the more I see them the more I want to write. Nice reviews give me warm fuzzies, but don’t be afraid to offer constructive criticism either.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> -Wes


	14. Requited

It was quiet when Hinata finally came back to consciousness.  The scent of wildflowers drifted to her from nearby, and no harsh lights invaded past her closed eyelids.  She was warm and comfortable despite feeling short of breath.  Her ribcage felt a little constricted, though not painfully so.  There was an inexplicable pressure by her right leg, and another on her hand.  It felt nice to just lie there in the dimness, but eventually curiosity got the better of her.

Pale eyes opened slowly; they felt heavier than usual, the reason for which eluded Hinata no matter how hard she concentrated on it.  Her head felt fuzzy.  A bit of panic took hold of her when she found only darkness, and on instinct she tried to sit up.  Before she could even lift her head a searing agony stabbed through her chest.  She took in a sharp breath and eased up immediately; it took a few seconds for the stabbing pain to dwindle to a dull throb.

“Try to lie still.” Hinata would have jumped out of her skin if she could have moved at all.  Sasuke’s voice sounded strange and far away, but it had startled her nonetheless.  She tried to speak, but all that came out was a weak, dry croak. “Hang on; I’ll get you some water.”

Shapes were finally starting to come into focus.  Hinata’s eyes traveled slowly around the small room; she could tell now that she was in a hospital.  She was lying in a bed with a large window on her right and a medical curtain on her left.  It was pulled back so that she could see the door, and there was a narrow table along the wall opposite her bed.  Flowers covered every available space on the table and threatened to spill onto the floor.  The room was dark, lit only by the soft glow from a crescent moon.

Sasuke slid off of the windowsill, moving carefully around her bed to a stand on the other side.  He retrieved a bottle that had apparently been set aside for her, leaning over to put its straw to her lips.  Hinata drank slowly, grateful for the cool water that seemed to wash away a bit of the murkiness lingering in her mind.  There was still that odd pressure against her right leg and the comfortable weight atop her hand.  Her head had been propped up at some point, but she was still unable to see down far enough to check what it was.  After a moment she nodded very slightly, and Sasuke withdrew the drink.

“Thank you,” she managed, though it came out as barely more than a whisper.  Sasuke nodded and set the bottle down, then sank into a chair next to her.

“Don’t mention it.”  He didn’t say anything for a time after that, allowing Hinata to gather her thoughts.  She remembered everything in vivid detail: trading blows, missing the blind spot, feeling Neji’s chakra course through her chest, and then falling.  A vague recollection of Naruto’s features played about in her head, but it was hard to place.

“How long . . .” she ventured, licking futilely at her cracked lips.

“It’s been nearly two days,” Sasuke responded evenly; she saw him out of the corner of her eye giving her a wry smirk.  “I’m sure your hand’s numb by now; Naruto hasn’t left since you got here.  He was trying to stay awake until you woke up, but he finally fell asleep about an hour ago.”

“Naruto . . . kun?” Hinata asked blearily; she had thought that the room was empty outside the two of them.  Sasuke raised an eyebrow and his eyes flicked to the other side of the bed.

“He’s pretty much been there the whole time.  The medic-nin in charge of your surgery assured us that you weren’t in any life-threatening danger, but I guess you know best how he can be when he’s worried.” She blinked several times, processing his words slowly.  Hinata carefully lifted her head, and even that minor action caused no small amount of strain.  Before her head fell back she caught a glimpse of Naruto’s shock of blond hair; the side of his face was resting on the bed by her thigh, and his hand was covering hers.  He looked almost as tired as she felt.  There were tears building in the corners of her eyes by the time she relaxed her neck again.

“I . . . wasn’t strong enough,” she said in a quiet, tight voice.  “I couldn’t do it.”

“If it makes you feel any better, last I checked Neji is still unconscious,” Sasuke said lightly, though when a tear broke away and started running down her cheek he sighed and leaned forward, folding his hands and speaking seriously.  “Hinata, you were incredible.  You held your own against _Neji_ ; do you think I could have done that?  Even Kakashi-sensei says he’s Konoha’s top genin.”

“That’s not what I mean,” she choked.  He blinked at her a few times, and when she managed to turn her head enough for him to see her eyes they were shimmering.  “If I had aimed . . . for the vertebrae instead of to its side, I could have . . . won.” Hinata winced, her breath coming short as she tried to calm herself down.  Sasuke was on his feet again, resting a hand on her shoulder and looking a little worried.

“It’s alright, Hinata.  If your kunai had hit his spine he might have–”

“Died,” she coughed.  Her heart rate was rising quickly, and with every beat a vice tightened around her chest.  “Or crippled, but . . . but . . .”

“Hey, hey,” Sasuke soothed, his tone fully concerned now.  “Take a minute and just breathe.  Breathe.”  Hinata shut her eyes tight and tried, focusing on her pulse and willing herself to calm down.  Getting too emotional in her state could cause complications.  It took nearly five minutes for her already shallow breathing to get back to normal, and when she finally opened her eyes they were dry and a little unfocused.  Her voice was calm again, albeit hoarse.

“But I couldn’t.” She sounded tired now, and every syllable carried with it a modicum of doubt and old, deep-seated self-loathing that Sasuke couldn’t have missed if he’d tried.  “He was right . . . I’m too weak; not cut out to be a shinobi.”

“Mm . . . Hinata-chan, stop that . . .” They both froze.  Sasuke’s lips were parted in an unspoken response when his eyes traveled down to where Naruto lay slumbering.  The blond boy’s eyes were still closed, and he had inadvertently started nuzzling Hinata’s hand in his sleep.  He made a few more sleepy noises before concluding his muttering.  “No, stop . . . I don’t want any broccoli . . .”

Hinata couldn’t help it – she laughed, though the sound came out a bit choked.  She squeezed his hand as tightly as she could.  _What would Naruto-kun say if he heard me right now?  Crying and feeling sorry for myself; he’d be ashamed of me._   Sasuke was shaking his head and smiling faintly; it wasn’t his typical smirk, either.  Both corners of his lips were quirked up as he turned his eyes back to her.

“You know as well as I do just how wrong that is, Hinata.  You know what Naruto would say if he were awake?” She closed her eyes, and her head tilted forward slightly in a nod.  He continued regardless, knowing it was best she heard it from somebody.  “He’d tell you that what you did isn’t considered weak, because kindness isn’t the same thing as weakness.  Even though Neji didn’t deserve it, you chose not to win the match if it meant putting his life in danger.  That took more strength than he’ll ever have.”

It was a gradual thing, but after a few minutes of silence Hinata began to rein in her negative thoughts.  It took a lot more effort than expected, but somewhere deep down she knew that Sasuke was right.  He wouldn’t lie to her.  And if she really, truly thought hard on it, even she was surprised by how well she had done against Neji.  “Kakashi-sensei . . . He did say not to prioritize the mission over our comrades, right?”

“Right,” Sasuke agreed.  “I’m not sure I can think of Neji as a comrade after that, but I understand that he’s your family.  You did the right thing, Hinata.” She smiled faintly, her eyes already sliding closed.  He watched her for a moment before moving back around to the window, slipping back on the sill.  In her state that conversation had likely taken a lot out of her; it would be best to let her rest.

“Thank you . . .” she mumbled, already nodding off.

“Get some rest,” Sasuke said quietly, his eyes turning contemplatively out towards the moon.  “Naruto would get mad at me if he knew I was keeping you up.” Hinata didn’t hear him.  The last things she remembered of that night were Naruto’s hand squeezing her own, and thinking just how lucky she was to have such friends.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“It’s hard to believe that Lee-san got beaten.” Naruto shook his head; he _could_ believe it, though.  Gaara had been Lee’s opponent.  “I’m glad Gai stopped it in time, though.  How’s he doing?” he asked, leaning back against his pillow and resting his head on the wall.  Hinata sat next to him on her hospital bed, looking a great deal healthier than she had a few days earlier.  She was still weak, but able to sit up next to him.  She was only leaning on his arm a little because the support was necessary, of course.

“He’s bedridden for a little while, which upset him quite a bit.  But Gai keeps reminding him that if Gaara had gotten that last attack off, he could have been crippled for life.” Kakashi stood at the foot of the bed with his hands in his pockets, examining his team.  Sasuke was perched on the windowsill as usual, reading a book that Haku had recommended.  The color had fully returned to Hinata’s face now, and her demeanor was more or less back to normal.  Naruto was his typical self, though markedly quieter out of consideration for his injured friend.  Haku was there as well, mirroring Sasuke on the other side of the sill and reading another novel.  “Gai wanted me to thank you, by the way,” he continued, looking pointedly to Naruto.  The boy tilted his head and raised an eyebrow; the action brought the side of his head into contact with the top of Hinata’s.  Kakashi was glad to note that the girl was feeling well enough to blush again.

“Thank me for what?  You were the one who warned them about Gaara.”

“If you hadn’t told me about Gaara, I wouldn’t have been able to warn Lee to be careful.  The Hokage forbade me from telling any specifics, but Gai knows me well enough to take me on my word.  When he saw that look in Gaara’s eyes when Lee was down, he stopped the fight immediately.”  Kakashi shrugged and leaned back against the wall, almost knocking over one of the flower vases in the process.  “So in effect, you saved Lee’s career as a ninja, and possibly his life.”

“If you want to get that technical,” Naruto responded dryly, flexing his fingers around Hinata’s, “You should thank the Kyuubi.  He’s the one who told me.”  Kakashi blinked at that, and then cast a sharp look at Haku.  He hadn’t moved at all save to lick his finger and flip a page.

“We told him,” Sasuke said dismissively, flipping the pages of his book every few seconds.  Kakashi could see the red of his irises in the window’s faint reflection; why hadn’t he ever thought to read through _Icha Icha Paradise_ with his Sharingan?  The jounin sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Check with me before you share sensitive information with anybody in the future, understand?  Haku may be your friend, but he’s my responsibility.  That knowledge is dangerous for anybody to have, but even more so for somebody not of our village.”  Haku flinched very slightly, which surprised Kakashi enough to make him stop.  The boy wasn’t one to convey many emotions openly.  Maybe he was being too strict; after all, Haku had been accepted into their fold, and he had proven willing to follow Kakashi’s orders and help Team Seven in whatever ways he could.

“When are you and Sasuke leaving for training?” Hinata asked after a moment.  Her voice was nearly back to its usual strength, just a bit quieter and only touched with fatigue.

“Today; I actually came here to get him.  You’re coming with us too, Haku.”  The pair on the windowsill looked up at the same time, and it was difficult to tell who was more surprised.  “I’m going to be working with Sasuke on his physical endurance, strength, and speed primarily.  If he’s going to be fighting Gaara, he’ll need it.  You can help him with his speed like you have already, just more . . . intensely.”  Sasuke almost shuddered at the thought of nearly a month of training with Kakashi, but Haku just beamed.

“I’d be glad to, Kakashi-sensei,” the older boy said immediately.  “If I can be of use to Sasuke-kun, I will.”

“You’re _helping_ me,” Sasuke corrected, grimacing at Haku’s choice of words.  “I’m not using you.”

“Of course.”  Haku smiled at him, and Sasuke got the feeling that his friend didn’t understand the difference at all.

“Naruto,” Kakashi began again, turning to give his other student a level look.  “I didn’t object to your spending time with Hinata while she was recovering, but now that she’s clearly alright again I expect you to start your training.  I’ve arranged for you to start this afternoon.  You are to meet your instructor at our usual gathering point at two o’clock.  Got it?”

“Yes, sensei.  Are you going to tell me who it is yet?” Naruto sighed and unlaced his fingers from Hinata’s, stretching upwards.  “I still think I’d do better training by myself, and with Hinata-chan when she’s better.”

“You’ll think otherwise soon enough.  Sasuke, Haku: let’s go.  Good luck, Naruto, and I hope you’re fully recovered soon Hinata.” Kakashi waved as Naruto nodded and Hinata gave him a small smile.  Sasuke closed his book and stuffed it in his back pouch before sliding off the windowsill, stepping over to the bed and holding out his fist to Naruto.  The blond grinned and rapped his friend’s knuckles.  Sasuke then extended his arm to Hinata, who blinked at it for a second before giggling lightly and pressing her closed fist against his.

“Oh, Sasuke,” Naruto began, stopping Sasuke before he could step away.  “I forgot to ask how your date with Sakura went.  That was last night, right?”

“Yeah, it was,” he shrugged.  “It went a lot better than I expected it to.  I’ll tell you how the next one goes in more detail; we’re supposed to go out again when I get back from training.”  Naruto raised an eyebrow, and Hinata’s eyes widened.  He flashed them both a smirk before continuing nonchalantly.  “See you two in a few weeks.  Don’t get in too much trouble without me.” Sasuke turned and put his hands in his pockets, walking to the door behind Kakashi.  Haku smiled at Naruto and Hinata, gave them a knowing, mischievous wink, and then hurried after Sasuke.  A moment later they were gone, leaving the pair to themselves.  Hinata started absently tracing lines in Naruto’s palm with her thumb, waiting a few seconds before speaking up.

“You have to leave in an hour, yeah?” It wasn’t really a question; of course he needed to.  Naruto nodded anyway, looking distracted.  Hinata could tell what he was thinking about without having to ask.  “I know we talked about it already, but please don’t dwell on what Neji did.  It wasn’t . . . really his fault.”

“I know, I know,” Naruto sighed, though he already looked irritated.  “The thing with the branch family and the head family, he’s got that cursed seal on his forehead, his dad died when he was young.  I’m not mad at him for going so hard on you – well, I am, but whatever.  I just . . .” He struggled for a second, then exhaled deeply again.  “I just can’t forgive him for trying to kill you, for _intending_ to kill you even after the match was over.”  Hinata winced; they had told her about it when she had come fully back to consciousness, and it was difficult to think about.  She had decided to keep their conversation within the arena to herself; they had overheard some of it, but she knew Naruto and Sasuke would be livid if they were privy to the whole thing.

“Even so, you promised not to do any more than necessary to win.  Don’t let him get to you.” She quieted then and flushed, wondering when she had become so forward as to demand things from Naruto.  He didn’t seem to mind, though, only nodding and continuing to stare at the wall.  “Thank you, by the way . . .” That seemed to snap him out of whatever daze he was in, and he turned to blink curiously at her.  “F-for staying with me, I mean.  I . . . I appreciated having you here.”

“Oh, ah . . .” Naruto reddened slightly, rubbing at the back of his neck.  “I was just really worried, and I didn’t want you to wake up alone in the hospital.  Sorry for drooling on your hand while I was asleep, though.”  That didn’t explain why he had been there nigh constantly since she had come to, but Hinata didn’t inquire further.  A demure smile lifted the corners of her lips, and she lowered her head to rest against his shoulder.  He tensed for a fraction of a second, then smiled and lifted his hand from hers.  Before she had time to register it his left arm had lifted over her head, settling down behind her with his hand resting near her hip.  It was her turn to tense, but it lasted for quite a bit longer.

“N-Naruto-kun?” she stammered, not daring to move.  Hinata didn’t see his blush deepen, too concentrated on her sudden lightheadedness.

“What?  Did I make you uncomfortable?” His voice was full of concern, and he started to move his hand away a second later.  Before it broke contact, however, Hinata’s own hand clasped it back to her.

“N-no!  I was just . . . surprised.”

“Oh.” He relaxed again, settling back against the pillows.  Hinata kept her left hand atop his, slipping her fingers in between his own and holding on tight.  Her tension began to fade away, and the two of them remained that way for a time.  Hinata closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy the blissful silence without feeling guilty or worried, slowly beginning to piece her thoughts together.

_I must have missed it happening . . . while I was waiting._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Naruto sighed, scowling at the creek below.  He had arrived a few minutes late after falling asleep with Hinata, a memory that brought a flush back to his features.  But it had been at least half an hour since then and he hadn’t seen a single person pass by the bridge.  The only signs of life were a few minnows drifting lazily in the water.

_This sucks; I could be training right now._

**_You could have been training for the last five days._** The response wasn’t exactly patronizing, but it held a clear tone of disapproval.  **_Not only was it a waste of time, but it was boring as hell.  How can you just sit around with your girlfriend for that long?  She was unconscious for half of it._**

 _Making sure that Hinata’s okay was more important than training,_ Naruto retorted firmly.  _Besides, I did some chakra control exercises while she was sleeping.  It’s not exactly easy to sit on the ceiling for a few hours._ The term ‘girlfriend’ caught his attention; had the fox always referred to Hinata like that?

**_Right, that will_ definitely _help you when you have to fight the Hyuuga boy.  That kid’s nothing to mess with._**

_I’ll be ready.  I want to spend most of my time this month figuring out how to let more of your chakra out; I intend to use as much of it as I can against him._

**_I told you_ ** **_–_ **

_No, I’m telling you this time._   If the Kyuubi had a physical form, it might have looked to have taken a slap to the face.   _I haven’t really argued with you up to now, but this is different.  Neji tried to_ kill _Hinata.  I’m not going to break my promise to her; I’ll only go as far as I need to.  But I’m going to use everything I can up front to teach him a lesson._   To Naruto’s surprise, he could sense the fox grinning.

 ** _Revenge, huh?_**  Naruto shrugged, and the Kyuubi barked out a laugh.  **_Fine, mortal.  I don’t object.  But how do you expect to release more of my chakra?  There’s no noticeable change from day to day; the seal was designed to loosen gradually._ Very _gradually; you won’t notice a difference for months to come._**

_I don’t know, but maybe somebody who knows a lot about fuuinjutsu can help._

“Are you sure this is the right kid, Gama?”  Naruto spun, dropping instinctively into a goken stance.  He hadn’t sensed or heard anything, but as soon as he turned he was confronted with a sight that made his jaw drop.  A massive toad – one large enough to take up the breadth of the bridge – stood no more than a meter from him, staring down with huge, flat eyes.  Atop its head a man sat cross-legged, his arms folded and regarding Naruto with a dubious expression.  He wasn’t as old as the Hokage, but he must have been nearing fifty at least.  The man had extraordinarily long white hair, held back by a broad hitai-ate emblazoned with the symbol for ‘oil’.  The giant amphibian let out an echoing, somehow affirmative croak.  Naruto took a step back, eyes wide on the newcomers.

“Ah . . . Who are – what is . . . what?” The man raised an eyebrow, then sighed and shook his head.

“This is the thanks I get for my research?  I get blackmailed into babysitting some clueless brat?”  Naruto bristled at that, standing up straight and narrowing his eyes.

“Are _you_ who’s supposed to be training me?” he asked incredulously.  _Kakashi-sensei said I wouldn’t regret it, but . . ._ He took a deep breath and relaxed a little, though he kept an eye on the toad as he amended his statement.  Iruka would get upset with him if he neglected his manners, even if the old man was being rude.  “Sorry.  I’m Uzumaki Naruto.  Kakashi-sensei said I was supposed to meet somebody here to start my training.”

“He didn’t even tell you my name?” the man asked, his eyes showing genuine disbelief.  He put a hand to his forehead in exaggerated distress, donning a look of – probably – feigned anguish.  “Youths these days don’t know how to respect their elders!  First that upstart interrupts my all-important information gathering, and now my identity is to be lost to antiquity?!”  He glanced down at Naruto to make sure that the blond was following along; all he received in response were a few bewildered blinks.  He scowled and jumped up, striking a dramatic pose and whipping his hair in a circle before flinging it back over his shoulder.  “I am the renowned Toad Sage of Myoubokuzan!”

“Toad Sage?” Naruto titled his head to the side.  “What’s that?  And . . . what’s _that_?” he asked, pointing at Gama.  The man’s eyebrow twitched, and after a moment he dropped the pose and appeared to deflate some.

“What does it look like, kid?  It’s a toad!”

“But why is it so big?”  Naruto received a flat look in response, and a moment later the toad erupted into a cloud of white smoke.  The man landed lightly on the ground, looking the blond boy up and down before shaking his head again, clearly exasperated.

“Haven’t you ever heard of summoning techniques?  What do they teach at the academy these days?”

“Of course I have,” Naruto said defensively.  He was trying to be respectful, but it was getting harder to take the man seriously with all of the sarcasm being served up.  “I’ve just never seen anything like that.  The only animals I’ve seen summoned are Kakashi-sensei’s ninken and some big snakes.”  As soon as the last word left his lips, the Sage’s demeanor changed and he sobered considerably.

“Snakes, huh?  I heard about your little encounter with Orochimaru.”  Naruto balked at that, tensing for a second before responding carefully.

“Only the jounin instructors and the Hokage are supposed to know about that.  I’ve never seen you before; how do you know about it?”  His inquiry was met with a gruff laugh, and the man sidled past him to lean over the railing.  When Naruto turned to him again the odd shinobi was studying the small fish pensively; all hints of his previous eccentric behavior were gone.

“It’s not important _how_ I know.”  He was quiet for a while after that, and eventually Naruto moved beside him to watch the stream as well.  The white-haired man cast a furtive glance at the boy and grinned slightly.  _He looks just like you, Minato._   _I wonder if he’s as strong as the rumors say._   Naruto noticed his smirk and looked up curiously.  _Well, I told Kakashi that I’d only talk to him, but we’ll see what he can do first._

“Alright kid, I can’t train you unless I know what you’re capable of.  I know that you have a lot of chakra, that you prefer taijutsu over ninjutsu, and that you can’t do any genjutsu to save your life.”  Naruto scowled as he went on, but didn’t argue.  The Sage smirked and continued.  “I also happen to know that you have access to a . . . different chakra source, correct?”  He seemed to be choosing his words carefully, but Naruto still froze and paled slightly.

“How do you–” The man waved a hand dismissively, cutting him off.

“I told you kid: _how_ isn’t important.  I have reason to believe that you also know what the chakra is, and why you have it.”  Naruto said nothing, but nodded stiffly.  _I didn’t expect him to be open about it, but he’s a lot more closed up than I expected._   “So, tell me about it.”

“I . . .” Naruto hesitated, thinking hard.  Iruka had told him that he could share the information with anybody he chose to, within reason.  He knew nothing about this stranger.  No matter how the man presented himself, it could be a bad idea to tell him about the Kyuubi.  “I’d like to know who you are first.  It’s not something I talk to people about, and if you really did know about it you’d be treating me differently than you are.”  That earned him a surprised look, and the older ninja considered it for a moment.

 _Treat him differently? What . . ._ He understood a moment later after he saw the expression that Naruto was holding.  The boy was defensive and untrusting, and of more than just him.  Maybe he had come on a little strong, but that alone wouldn’t be enough to back the kid into a corner.  _Damned villagers,_ he thought bitterly, grimacing back at the creek.  He shrugged then, sighing in mock exasperation.

“My name is Jiraiya.  Don’t go bragging to your friends about meeting me, either.”  Naruto’s brow furrowed, and after a few seconds he gave a start and straightened.  Before last week he hadn’t heard that name before, but following the confrontation with Orochimaru he had asked Hinata about the Sannin she had mentioned.  And unless this man simply shared the name . . .

“You’re . . . one of the Sannin?” The knowing wink Jiraiya gave him didn’t exactly provide any proof, but something about his nonchalant, confident mannerisms gave Naruto the feeling that he wasn’t lying.

“You at least know that the three Sannin are famous for their summons, right?  Well, I’m the Toad Sage; my contract is with toads of Mount Myouboku.  Orochimaru has one with snakes of Ryouchi Cave, and Tsunade’s is with the slug Katsuyu of Shikkotsu Forest.  You can ask your sensei if you don’t believe me, but he is the one who asked me to come here.”  _More like twisted my arm, but it might yet prove to be interesting._ That explanation seemed to satisfy Naruto for the time being; he wasn’t about to take Jiraiya’s word without asking Kakashi first, but it was enough to make him act with a little more respect.  After a moment’s consideration he bowed to the older man, inclining his head to a similar degree as he would for the Sandaime.  Jiraiya scowled again, but Naruto didn’t seem to notice.

“I apologize for being rude, Jiraiya-sama, I–”

“Okay, okay, kid – Naruto, right?  If I’m going to be helping with your training, just call me ‘Jiraiya-sensei’.  You don’t have to be so formal.  Now, just tell me what you know about your chakra.”  He seemed more flustered than annoyed, but Naruto only nodded and adopted an apprehensive expression.

**_He probably already knows.  He’s one of the Hokage’s students, and he’s old enough to remember the events of that wretched day._ **

_He didn’t react the same way towards me as the other villagers, though.  If he knew about you, would he have agreed to train me?_

**_I know it’s hard to believe,_** the Kyuubi stated wryly, **_But not everybody is a narrow-minded imbecile._**

 _That’s a surprising thing to hear you say._  It was odd to be found teasing the fox, but its rumbling growl gave him a bit of satisfaction from it.  “I know it’s from the Kyuubi no Kitsune,” Naruto stated simply, shrugging as he turned back to the water.  “We started working together a few months ago, and he’s been teaching me how to use his chakra.”  Apparently this was not the response that Jiraiya had been expecting.

“You and the demon fox started to _what?_ ” the Sage nearly sputtered, eyes widening.  Naruto fidgeted a little before shrugging again.

“I can use the Kyuubi’s chakra when I need to,” he said again.  “Before I could only use it when I was . . . Well, it was usually when I was really mad.  But I talked to him about it and we decided that it was in our best interest that I learn how to use it normally, like it was just another energy source or something.  He always says it should be used as an extension of my chakra, for things that take a lot of energy to do.  If I need to make more than fifty Shadow Clones, for example, it makes more sense to use his chakra so I won’t be as drained by it.”  He stopped there, growing more uncomfortable at Jiraiya’s increasingly disbelieving countenance.

“Well,” the man started after a recomposing himself.  He coughed, shaking his head as he stared thoughtfully over Naruto’s shoulder, his eyes unfocused.  “I expected you to know about it, and maybe even know where it was from.  But I didn’t expect you to be able to use it at will already.”

“Already?” Jiraiya nodded and turned his gaze back to Naruto.

“Follow me; I’ll show you what I mean.”  He turned and began walking, his sandals clacking upon the bridge’s wooden planks.  Naruto hurried to fall in beside Jiraiya, his mind racing at the Sage’s words.

It took only a few minutes to reach the nearest secluded area: the third training ground.  Naruto smiled faintly when he saw the three wooden posts near the Memorial Stone.  It felt like it had been so long since they had passed Kakashi’s test there, even though it had been only a few short months ago.  Jiraiya led him to the center post, smirking and placing his hand fondly on it.  Before Naruto could say anything, the man turned towards him and folded his arms.

“Alright, Naruto.  Take your coat and shirt off.”  Naruto raised an eyebrow, but did as he was told without arguing.  He placed his long black coat on one of the poles, his grey shirt following shortly after.  “Good, now start channeling a bit of the Kyuubi’s chakra; it doesn’t matter where or for what purpose.  Just send some to the soles of your feet for now, like you’re walking on water or something.”  Naruto nodded, concentrating the chakra as instructed.  As he did, the seal over his torso appeared; it was something that he was still trying to get used to.  Hinata had noticed it first when he had begun training with the Kyuubi’s chakra, and since then he realized that it showed up every time the demon fox’s chakra was accessed.

“This was made using the Eight Trigrams Sealing Technique,” Jiraiya mused, kneeling in front of Naruto and examining the markings.  A thick spiral was nestled between two intricate arcs above and below, each containing flowing runes and symbols that branched outward at four points.  It looked like a tattoo on his stomach, but much clearer as if it had been drawn with fresh ink.  “You see these two individual seals?”  He pointed to the two arcs, then moved his finger to where they almost connected to form a circle around the spiral center.  “Each one is a Four Symbols Seal, a special jutsu meant to contain something inside of something else.  When the Fourth sealed the Kyuubi, it looks like he used two on purpose.  See the spaces here on either side, where they don’t quite connect to form a circle?”  Naruto nodded, entranced by the explanation.  “I suspect he did that on purpose, to allow space for the demon’s chakra to leak out and mix with your own.

“What I meant before is that the Yondaime likely intended for you to be able to use the Kyuubi’s chakra eventually; it may have been his way of protecting you.  But I don’t think even he would have expected that you’d be able to use it at will already.”  He stood slowly, eyes lingering on the seal before nodding again.  “Now show me what you can do with it.”  Naruto hesitated for only a moment before stepping back, turning inward for a moment first.

_You don’t mind, right?_

**_Are you kidding?  This guy could help loosen the seal; go all out and show him what you’re capable of, and maybe he’ll consider it._**   Naruto nodded, which earned him a befuddled look from Jiraiya.  He wasn’t interested in explaining that he could talk to the Kyuubi at will, so instead he just brought out as much chakra as he could.

Jiraiya smirked as the vermilion cloak crept up around Naruto.  The chakra was fundamentally different than most; normally when chakra was strong enough to be seen it took on an appearance not unlike fire.  Jiraiya was surprised to see, however, that it looked more like thick reddish liquid, with small bubbles throughout that gave it the appearance of perpetually boiling water.  The single tail twitched back and forth behind him, like it was trying to get a better view of Jiraiya.  But Naruto didn’t appear to be finished yet.

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.” A breath later the clearing was packed with orange-shrouded Narutos, all bare-chested and looking at the Sage with a myriad of expressions.  Some seemed curious, others excited; the majority appeared calm and patient, simply waiting for whatever comment the man had to offer.

“Interesting.  Very interesting, kid.  Is that all the chakra you can use?”

“Yes,” Naruto responded slowly, allowing the few dozen clones to disperse.  “I can use it like that to make me faster and stronger, or I can use it to make my ninjutsu more powerful.  I’m still working on doing both at once; it’s hard to concentrate on using it like this, balancing it with my own chakra, and then mixing both for ninjutsu.”  Jiraiya stared at him for a time before shaking his head again, chuckling.

“You’ve got a lot on your plate, I see.  That chakra source should let you perform summoning techniques with relative ease; they generally require a large amount of chakra.  How would you like to learn?” Naruto blinked at him as he allowed the chakra to fade, retrieving his clothes while he thought it over.

“Summoned animals are supposed to help you when you need them, right?” he asked after slipping back into his shirt.  Jiraiya nodded, and Naruto paused in picking up his coat.  “That toad you were riding earlier was huge.  How big do they usually get?”  At that his new sensei laughed.

“That was Gama, one of the average-sized toad summons.  He likes to get outside of Mount Myouboku for some fresh air, and he’s a great friend, so I summon him from time to time.  The biggest toads, however . . .” He thought for a moment, and then grinned broadly.  “If Gamabunta was standing at the base of the academy, his head might reach the faces of the Hokage monument.”  Naruto’s lips parted in wordless surprise, and he coughed once or twice before he was able to respond.

“Ah, right.  So you can . . . summon one of those huge toads to do stuff for you?”

“Yes and no,” Jiraiya responded cryptically, letting the boy muddle in confusion before continuing.  “A summoning jutsu is what’s called a space-time technique, one that manipulates people or objects and sends them through a dimensional . . .” He trailed off upon seeing Naruto’s puzzled expression, and he sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck.  It was a complicated subject to teach a twelve-year-old.  “The important part is that when you summon something, it gets taken from one place and put in another instantly.  There’s no travel time; it just appears where you summon it.  Get it?”  Naruto nodded, and Jiraiya decided that sticking with simplicity would be best for now.

“Signing a contract with an animal aspect gives you the right and permission to call upon them.  However, that doesn’t mean that they _have_ to come help you; you’re not their master.  If Gama was busy when I wanted to summon him, he could refuse to come.  He’d also be able to tell that I was the one trying to summon him.  Conversely, an animal summon can choose to summon _you_ in what’s called a reverse-summon.  So far I haven’t been able to figure out how to refuse one of those,” he laughed, though the statement made Naruto a little nervous.  “But it would only happen in an emergency I’m sure, or with your permission.  Any questions?”

“Ano . . . You keep mentioning a contract, sensei.  What do you mean?” Jiraiya nodded and took a few steps to the side.  He lifted his hand and bit down hard on his thumb, drawing blood immediately.  His hands went through a series of seals – boar, dog, bird, monkey, and ram – in deliberately slow movements so that Naruto could follow along.  After the final seal he leaned down and pressed his palm to the ground.

“Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” Black lines shot out from his palm, spreading across the ground like living ink.  They twisted in what looked to be a foreign script, and in almost the same instant a circle of the same design appeared all around Jiraiya’s hand, connecting the lines.  Before Naruto could study the markings closely, a plume of white smoke burst forth from the pattern, concealing the Sage for a few seconds.  When it cleared, he was once again sitting atop Gama’s head, grinning down at Naruto smugly.  The large frog had its tongue lolling out, holding a sizeable scroll in its slimy clutches.  It lowered the document carefully, and Jiraiya dropped to the ground beside it.

“Whoa,” Naruto breathed.  _Even if this guy isn’t actually Jiraiya, he can do some really cool stuff._

 ** _He seems to know a lot, too,_** the fox pointed out.  **_Would have been better if he was a Sage of something other than frogs, though; I hate frogs._**

_Why?  Not that I’m surprised that you hate something._

**_Frogs are food.  And don’t get cheeky with me, mortal._ **

“This is the contract you’d have to sign in order to be allowed to summon toads,” Jiraiya said, brandishing the big cylindrical parchment.  “You sign it with your own blood, and the contract is binding even after death; if somebody were to get ahold of your blood, they could use the summoning technique as well.”  He flipped the scroll over and unraveled it, displaying a series of signatures with accompanying fingerprints alongside blank spaces for future contractees.  The most recent name read ‘Jiraiya’, with the one preceding spelling out ‘Namikaze Minato’.

“The Fourth Hokage had a contract with the toads?” Naruto stared at the name; the other, more faded ones didn’t even register.

“Aye, he did.  Minato was my student, you know.” Jiraiya was smiling when Naruto looked up at him; he could see more respect building behind those blue eyes.

“But . . .” He chewed on his lower lip, looking back to the scroll.  “Isn’t this kind of a big decision to make?”  _Iruka always said to think hard about big decisions, and try to sleep on it at least._   He could hear the fox laughing at him, but he ignored it.

“I suppose it is,” Jiraiya said slowly, watching Naruto.  “But you can always make more than one contract if you want; you’re not bound to one if you don’t want to be.  Just don’t go trying to summon more than one or you could be in for a rough time.”

**_I wouldn’t sign it, kid._ **

_Why not?  Being able to summon a toad like Gamabunta might be really helpful some time._

**_I fought Gamabunta once,_** the Kyuubi started matter-of-factly.  Naruto was taken aback not only at the knowledge, but at the fox using the name of something rather than referring to it passively.  The measure of respect was . . . strange.  **_The Yondaime summoned him to fight me twelve years ago before sealing me away.  He’s definitely strong, but you’re better off finding your own summon that’s less likely to have a grudge against me.  Besides . . . I hate frogs._**   Naruto chuckled aloud, eliciting a growl from the Kyuubi and a questioning eyebrow from Jiraiya.

“I appreciate the honor, Jiraiya-sensei.  Do you mind if I think about it for a while first?”  The man nodded to him and resealed the scroll, tossing it back for Gama to hold.

“It’s your blood; there’s plenty of other stuff you can do with that chakra.  I can teach you a few things, I suppose . . .” Jiraiya’s expression changed to one of apparent severity and intense consideration, and he seemed to study Naruto carefully for a time.  “I need to get back to my research for today, but I want you to spend the rest of daylight practicing with molding the Kyuubi’s chakra with your own into techniques.  Kakashi tells me that your ninjutsu is the weaker of your salvageable skills, so work hard on the techniques you’re learning.  I’ll meet you back here tomorrow morning at ten, got it?”

“Yes, sensei,” Naruto said immediately, grinning up at Jiraiya.  The man gave him a calculated nod and turned, disappearing back into the woods and chatting at Gama the whole way.

_I wonder what kind of research he does.  With the way he was talking about it I guess it must be something important, and maybe even secret._

**_Beats me,_** the Kyuubi yawned.  **_Just make sure to ask him tomorrow about the seal.  I want to be able to stretch my proverbial legs a bit more._**

 _Yeah, yeah, I will.  Now focus and help me with this training.  I’m still not that good at maintaining the partial cloak and using ninjutsu._   The red-orange chakra sprang back up around him, though only as a haze and without the tail formed.

 ** _All you need to do is focus.  You humans and your one-track brains are aggravating._**   Despite the snide remark, the Kyuubi helped Naruto stay focused on the task at hand.  He did as Jiraiya had instructed, beginning work on a lightning technique Sasuke had shown him a few weeks before while making sure to keep his entire body covered with the fox’s chakra at the same time.  It would prove to be a frustrating afternoon.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“Hinata-chan, you have visitors.” Hinata’s eyes fluttered open at the sound of a familiar voice; it was the kindly nurse that frequently checked up on her.

“Visitors . . . ?” She quickly rubbed at the corners of her eyes, blinking the sleep away before the door opened.  Judging by the soft light flowing in from the window it was nearing sunset.  Naruto he would still be training until after dark, and Sasuke and Haku were gone with Kakashi.  “Please, come in,” Hinata responded a little louder, carefully sitting up and propping a few pillows behind her.

“Hey there ninja princess,” Tenten greeted her, smiling warmly from behind the nurse as she stepped in.  “Feeling better?”  After a moment’s confusion Hinata’s features lit up with a smile of her own, tinged with a blush at her friend’s choice of words.

“It’s good to see you, Tenten-senpai.  I’m feeling much better, thank you.” While Tenten made her way to the long table to set down some fresh flowers, the nurse waited by the door, her gaze cast out into the hallway.

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be up and about yet, Lee-kun,” the woman worried.  A few seconds later Lee came limping into the room with a crutch under one arm and a fierce, determined grin on his face.

“This is nothing; I’ll never fully recover if I don’t push myself!” He grunted as he crossed the threshold, and the nurse only sighed and gave Hinata a weak smile before leaving them to themselves.

“Lee-senpai,” Hinata started concernedly as Tenten helped ease him into a chair.  “Are you sure you’re okay to be out of bed?”

“Of course!” he responded emphatically, straightening as soon as he was settled.  She barely even noticed his wince.  “I had to come speak to you.”  He leaned forward, his voluminous eyebrows furrowed as he took on a serious expression.  “You fought on par with Neji, Hinata-san.  And what’s more, you rendered him unconscious so that he could not see my secret move in the fight against Gaara of the Sand.  I am indebted to you.”  He bowed his head to her, causing a renewed blush to spring up on the girl’s face.

“A-Ano . . .” Hinata fidgeted with the sheets in her lap, not entirely sure how to respond.  Luckily Tenten was there to roll her eyes and pat Lee sympathetically on the shoulder.

“Lee, you’re being dramatic again.  Although I wish _I_ had been awake to see whatever technique you’re bragging about,” she grumbled, dropping into the chair next to his.  “Stupid fan girl.”

“It was unfortunate that you had to fight her,” Hinata sympathized, but Tenten only shook her head and laughed.

“I’m glad that it happened; it reminded me that we won’t always get to choose who we fight.  I bet the test was designed that way, so that some people would be forced into bad matchups.  I mean, as a chuunin – as a squad leader – we’d have to figure out how to overcome situations like that, so it makes sense.  I just need to train harder, and focus on my weak areas.” Lee nodded and grinned at his teammate’s determination, and Hinata couldn’t help but smile as well.  She admired Tenten’s outlook, a perspective the older girl and Lee seemed to have in common.

“Have Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun begun their training?” Lee asked a moment later, intense gaze turning back to Hinata.

“Yes; they both left today.  Kakashi-sensei is training Sasuke-kun with Haku-chan’s help, and Naruto-kun went to train with . . . Well,” she faltered.  “I don’t know who he went to train with, but his teacher is supposed to be strong.”  Lee and Tenten shared a curious look, but they didn’t press Hinata for details.  “How . . . How is Neji-niisan?”

“He was only able to leave the hospital today,” Tenten answered, smirking as Hinata’s eyes widened slightly.  “You really did a number on him, I heard.”

“Yosh!” Lee exclaimed, his eyes alight.  “It was inspiring, and I learned many things from it.  Hinata-san’s conviction is unrivaled; she kept getting up and fighting no matter what, and . . .” He continued into an exaggerated retelling of the encounter, and with every compliment or mention of her ‘heroics’ Hinata flushed deeper.  By the end her index fingers were pressed together so hard that they turned white, and she had long since ducked her head.

“Y-You give me too much credit, Lee-senpai,” she mumbled after he was finished, but before he could respond Tenten cut in with a chiding tone.

“Hinata, you’re too humble; neither of us could have beaten Neji.  Well, maybe Lee could have with his super-secret technique, but you fought on par with him without any tricks and nearly won.  He’s a year your senior, too; you should be proud of your accomplishment.  Oh, and speaking of seniors,” she continued firmly, “You don’t have to keep addressing us like that.  As far as I’m concerned, we’re both genin, and you’ve already proved that you’re on the same level as we are.  We’re equals – and friends – Hinata- _chan_.”

Hinata blinked rapidly as a few tears threatened to escape the corners of her eyes.  It was – more or less – the same thing Sasuke and Naruto had told her; Kakashi had even put in a similar word of praise.  It was becoming more and more difficult to hold on to her own doubt.

“Thank you, Tenten-sen–” She stopped herself when Tenten raised an eyebrow.  “Tenten-chan.”

“There we go,” the older kunoichi chimed, grinning again.  “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Hinata offered a shy smile.  Tenten considered her for a moment before turning to Lee.  “Lee, you should go back and get some more rest.  The medic-nin told you yesterday that you could be out by the end of the week if you stay in bed.”

“But I wanted to talk to Hinata-san about her fight some more,” Lee protested.  Tenten gave him a flat look that left no room for arguing.  The boy pouted a little but bounced back to his usual perky self in no time, turning back to Hinata.  “Please allow me to visit again soon; I must hear about your training!”  Hinata nodded slowly; it was difficult to read Lee most of the time, and sometimes his exuberance put her off balance.  He flashed her a toothy grin before hoisting himself up with Tenten’s assistance, hobbling to the door and giving them a last thumbs-up on his way out.  Tenten rolled her eyes and shut the door, lowering herself back into the chair a moment later.

“So,” she started without preamble, “How are you and Naruto doing?”

“We’re . . .” Hinata stopped abruptly with her lips still parted, and after a few bewildered blinks she turned a brilliant shade of red.  Tenten let out a rich laugh that devolved into a fit of giggles.  Hinata only sat there, struck dumb at being caught so unexpectedly.  It had been such a matter-of-fact question and her response had been immediate.   _We . . ._

“You still haven’t told him, have you?” Tenten teased lightly, causing Hinata to look quickly down.  It took a few seconds, but she eventually shook her head, her face still burning.  Tenten sighed and leaned back in her chair, still smiling.  “Not that it’s any of my business, I guess, but you two are pretty much dating already.  I just don’t think either of you have realized it yet.”

“W-We’re not!” Hinata insisted, still staring down at her hands; she was fidgeting with the sheets, too distracted to notice her fingers becoming entangled.  “We’re just . . . close friends.”

“You and Sasuke are close friends,” the other girl countered, “I don’t see you holding his hand or looking at him the same way.”  Hinata floundered for an appropriate response, but after a time she could only offer a small sigh and lean back against her pillows.  Tenten had known since the first day they had trained together, and had made sure to ask about their relationship once or twice since.  At first Hinata had answered honestly – if not in a flustered state – that she and Naruto were only friends.  But now . . .

“It’s . . . We’re doing fine,” she said, but the words came out tired and unsure.  “I think . . . I think we both know, but neither of us has confessed . . .”

“Why not?” Tenten asked, genuinely puzzled.  “You two have been friends for years, and by all accounts you’ve only gotten closer over time.”

“A-All accounts?” Hinata started, glancing quickly towards Tenten.  The girl winked mischievously.

“I like to socialize,” Tenten stated casually.  Her expression sobered after a moment, though, and she looked down at her lap.  “Hinata, you ought to tell him how you feel.”  Normally the statement might elicit another blush from Hinata, but the gravity with which it was said made her stop and wonder.  “Our lives are dangerous; like someone said a few days ago, people died in the Chuunin Exam.  We saw some of them, too.  And we’re still genin.”  She let the words sink in before continuing, still studying nothing in particular.  “Once we’re all chuunin or jounin, the missions will carry more risk, and the possibility of death will only rise with every operation.  If Naruto makes chuunin and goes off to start performing more life-threatening assignments . . .” She didn’t have to continue the thought; Hinata had already connected the dots.

“Hinata, Naruto could have died in the Forest of Death.” Tenten’s statement was a simple one, but it jarred Hinata enough to make her tense.  She bit her lower lip hard and closed her eyes.  “He could die in the next portion of the exam; even if he beats Neji, someone else might take him down.  We’re shinobi,” she said quietly, eyes lifting to Hinata’s.  “Our lives are put on the line every day.  There isn’t room to be hesitant about your feelings.  One of you could be gone tomorrow, and you’ll have never shared your feelings for one another.”

The pair sat in silence for a long while.  The soft glow of sunlight faded slowly, and by the time Hinata spoke the room was nearly dark.

“I’ll tell him after the exams,” she said quietly.  Tenten looked apprehensive, but she offered the older girl a small, confident smile.  “He won’t lose there, I promise.  And I don’t want to distract him from his training.”  Tenten looked reluctant to accept that, but she nodded and returned Hinata’s smile.

“I’ll hold you to it.  You two make a cute couple.”  Hinata’s blush returned in full force at that, and Tenten let out another laugh before standing up.  “I’m sure he’ll be back soon, so I’ll head home for the night.  I’ll be back tomorrow, alright?  And I’ll bring some lunch, too!”  Hinata smiled and nodded, and with a last wave Tenten departed.

Hinata sat and sifted through her thoughts until Naruto returned to regale her with the day’s events.  She was just as surprised as he had been about Jiraiya, and she asked question after question about summoning techniques.  By the time he finished talking about how his solo training had gone, night had completely fallen and it was getting late.

“I don’t think I’ve gotten any better,” he lamented in conclusion, leaning back against the pillow beside Hinata.  “But I’m going to ask Jiraiya-sensei if he’ll look at the Kyuubi’s seal for me tomorrow.  He might be able to loosen it; he knows a lot about fuuinjutsu too.”

“Are you sure?” she asked carefully, echoing her concerns from the previous week.  Hinata was confident in Naruto’s ability, but the Kyuubi’s power frightened her still.  It was hard to take his – or the fox’s – word that it wasn’t dangerous to release more of its chakra.

“Jiraiya-sensei said that the seal was made so that the Kyuubi’s chakra could leak out, right?  So I think I was supposed to be able to control it eventually.”  Hinata nodded, but seemed distracted.  He glanced at her and smiled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.  “If it turns out bad, he could always fix the seal again.”

“Right,” she agreed, feeling a little better with it in that context.  Jiraiya wouldn’t let anything get out of hand, and if he was as strong as Orochimaru he wouldn’t have a problem subduing Naruto if he needed to.  The thought of Naruto losing control brought about an involuntary shiver.

“Iruka-sensei said he wanted me to be home tonight,” Naruto said after a few more minutes of light conversation.  He sounded apologetic, but Hinata only nodded and put her free hand on his forearm.

“I’ll be alright by myself, don’t worry,” she teased lightly.  Naruto flushed before grinning sheepishly and rubbing at the back of his neck.

“I know that; I just like being here with you is all.”  It was her turn to blush.  Hinata moved her hand from his and slipped it around his arm, holding it in as good of a hug as she could manage from her position next to him.  Naruto placed a hand over hers and held tight for a few seconds before reluctantly slipping off of the bed and out of Hinata’s embrace.

“I’ll stop by tomorrow after training.  Do you know when you’ll be able to leave the hospital?”

“Another week or so,” she replied sullenly; Naruto couldn’t help but notice how cute Hinata looked when she was pouting.  “But the medic-nin said that if my heart had been weaker, or if more chakra had been forced through it, I’d have been here for over a month.  Or . . .” Hinata trailed off, and Naruto paled at the unfinished thought.  A small, soft smile still crept onto his lips as he leaned down, one arm moving around her upper back to pull her to him.  She leaned her head gently against his, and she moved one hand up to rest on the back of his neck.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” he said quietly, his voice a little thick.  He gave her a brief squeeze before withdrawing, and as he did Hinata froze, a shiver running down the length of her spine.  Inadvertently or not, Naruto’s lips had brushed her cheek on his way back.  When she looked up he was already by the door, and she held her breath when he turned back to her.  Even in the dim light she could see his abashed grin; he looked back at her one last time before slipping silently from the room.

Hinata was left staring after him, one hand on her cheek and the other pressed to her stomach; the butterflies were out in force today.  _Even if it wasn’t intentional,_ she reasoned, settling back down and pulling the comforter up, _It felt . . ._ It was difficult for her to reconcile how it really had felt.  Hinata drifted off to pleasant dreams in the midst of deciding how she would go about taking Tenten’s advice, and how she would finally tell Naruto how much she cared for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks. It took a lot longer to get a shorter chapter out this week, for a lot of boring reasons that have mostly to do with work and my own laziness. Mostly the latter.
> 
> I do need to mention though that my week-to-week schedule will be changing in late August, and it will most certainly delay future updates. I purposefully neglected to commit to posting chapters on a schedule largely because I know I’ll not be able to keep up the roughly one per week I have been doing. I think setting a deadline would only reduce the length and quality of a chapter, as opposed to writing when I feel inspired to and putting out something I can be proud of.
> 
> This chapter and the next I’m having fun with, emphasizing developing relationships instead of focusing entirely on training. I thank you for reading, and hope you enjoyed Chapter 14.
> 
> Thank you to Rhi as always for editing. It was a fun chapter to go through.
> 
> See you next time!


	15. Preparation and Progress

Sasuke grunted and fell to one knee, clutching at his calf.  A thin icicle protruded from the back of his leg, slowly being overtaken by the red taint of blood.  A few of the mirrors surrounding him cracked and began to sink towards the ground.  Haku's concerned features were reflected in every one; even without his old mask it was painfully reminiscent of their encounter in the Land of Waves.  Before the technique could end, however, Kakashi appeared in front of Sasuke, looking down at him blandly.

"You're not done yet, Haku," the jounin stated calmly.  The mirrors ceased their descent, and several of the fractures began to repair themselves.  Haku still looked stricken with worry.  "You've made a lot of progress this last week, Sasuke, but you need to be faster.  You won't defeat Gaara like this."

"It'd help if you'd teach me that technique already," the boy retorted, clenching his teeth as he wrenched the frozen senbon from his flesh.  The ice had thankfully numbed a bit of the pain, enabling him to stand shakily.  "You can't expect me to be as fast as Lee after he opens those gates."

"Maybe, maybe not," Kakashi responded cryptically.  "Do you think he’s faster than me, even with them opened?"  Sasuke opened his mouth, then closed it again.  He hadn't seen first-hand exactly how fast Lee had been, but he doubted a genin of any calibre could even come close to Kakashi's agility.  "There are other ways to increase your speed, Sasuke.  Of your peers - including Naruto and Hinata - you are the most versatile.  Your chakra control is excellent, your speed and power are above average, your skill with ninjutsu is well beyond your years, you're learning genjutsu, and besides Tenten there isn't another genin - or chuunin, for that matter - that can use ranged weapons like you can."  He paused for a moment, and to his satisfaction Sasuke didn't appear pleased by the praise – he knew what was coming.  "But in order to use the Chidori you must be faster, and you must be stronger.  You are capable not because of your bloodline, but because you are strong."

"When do we move on to a different training regimen, then?" Sasuke sighed, testing his wounded leg gingerly.  "I've been dodging thousands of icicles for a week straight."

"When you can last two hours without taking a hit, we’ll start the real training."  Sasuke scowled but didn't protest; he had managed to avoid Haku's onslaught for nearly an hour and a half before fatigue had caused him to slip up this time.  He could do it.  Kakashi turned and vanished again, his voice echoing around even after he had gone.  "Keep going until you're out of chakra, Haku.  And don't let up just because he's injured."  Haku's reflections paled, but Sasuke gave him an encouraging – if tight – smile.

"Don't worry about me; go all out or it won't be worth it," Sasuke said firmly, lowering himself into a balanced stance.  His left leg trembled as he put weight on it, but he refused to let the strain show on his face.  Instead he adopted a placid expression, willing himself to be calm and focused.  After only a second's hesitation Haku began again, and they didn't stop for over an hour.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

"Stop twitching," Kakashi ordered, though in a softer tone than usual.  He was kneeling over Sasuke, who was lying on his chest on the cooling stone ground.  The rock formations all around them cast ominous shadows in fading light of the setting sun, stretching like fingers into the valleys below.  A gentle blue-green glow pulsed from the jounin's palm as he moved it up from the boy's leg and to his shoulder, stitching a trough of ruined tissue back together.  "You did well today; you may be ready soon."

"Not well enough," Sasuke muttered, shivering at the strange sensation of his skin knitting back together.  Hinata had healed his injuries plenty of times, but those had been nothing worse than fractured bones or bruises.  Feeling deep gashes and stab wounds mending was a new experience.  "I'll get it tomorrow."  Kakashi said nothing, only nodding and moving on until he had closed the last cut.  When he was through Sasuke groaned and sat up carefully, rolling his shoulders and flexing his complaining limbs.  "Thanks."  His teacher sat down opposite him and tossed him a small bag in lieu of a response, opening one of his own and withdrawing a cube of . . . something.

"Field rations," Kakashi explained to his dubious student.  "Tomorrow you'll find us real food after your training, but I figured you could use some rest after today.  We pushed you harder than usual.”

"This is terrible," Sasuke sighed, though he took another bite of the 'food' regardless; he was famished enough to eat anything.  He was silent for a time as he consumed the unusual meal.  When he did speak he sounded tired, but determined.  "Don't let up because I'm low on chakra.  I could have gotten dinner like usual, and you know it."

"I do, but it was getting dark and we still have our discussion before you can sleep."  Sasuke nodded and folded his legs, facing Kakashi.  They had been going over the traits of the Sharingan every night as supplemental training, and though others may have found it arduous Sasuke wanted to learn everything he never had the opportunity to glean.  "I've already covered the basic abilities of your Sharingan in fair depth, and so far you've shown natural ability with several.  You can easily follow and predict movements now, and you’re able to copy most ninjutsu after seeing them once.  Your eyes are not yet developed enough to snare an enemy in a genjutsu, but you've shown promise in using illusory techniques already.  You seem to be naturally more capable than most Uchiha - even Itachi."  Sasuke tensed, but his expression remained a blank mask.  "If you wish to bring your eyes to their full potential, all that you can do is train hard and survive stressful, life-threatening conditions."

"You explained the Curse of Hatred to me already; I was never told about that part of my clan's history.  But . . ." He hesitated, glancing off to the side.  Haku was lying on his bedroll with his back facing them.  He had all but collapsed there after they had finished training, and it was becoming a nightly routine for the older boy to pass out after a long day of intense chakra consumption.  Satisfied that his friend was asleep, he turned back to Kakashi and took on a careful tone.  "Itachi said . . . Well . . . Kakashi-sensei, do you know about-"

"The Mangekyou Sharingan," Kakashi finished for him, sighing as he spoke.  Sasuke pursed his lips and nodded tightly.  "I knew you'd ask me about it eventually.  Itachi has his, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," Sasuke replied gruffly, breaking eye contact.  The memories that had resurfaced during Orochimaru's assault came back with harsh clarity.  "He used the Tsukuyomi on me before he fled the village."  Kakashi's visible eye widened at the admission before he closed it and shook his head.

"I'm sorry; I didn't know about that."  Sasuke shrugged and stayed silent, waiting.  After a long moment Kakashi lifted his hand, tugging his hitai-ate up and away from his left eye.  He opened it slowly, meeting Sasuke's still active Sharingan with his own.  _Mangekyou Sharingan_.  Sasuke took in a sharp breath as Kakashi's pupil and tomoe distorted, merging and elongating until the entire iris was vastly different.  The center circle was now red instead of black, and while the crimson background remained the majority of Kakashi's eye was now a black design that resembled a three-pointed shuriken, with curved, scythe-like protrusions breaking off at each tip to connect to the one beside it.  Sasuke subconsciously shifted his weight back, the sight reminding him too well of that night years ago.

"How did you . . . I thought . . ."  He couldn't find the words.  If what his brother had said could be trusted, Kakashi would have had to . . .

"Remember what I told you of my old teammates, Obito and Rin?" Kakashi started quietly, looking away from Sasuke towards the last rays of sunlight.  "Some time after Obito died, Rin was captured by the Hidden Mist and forced into becoming the vessel for the Sanbi."  He glanced over at Sasuke's shocked features; with both of Kakashi’s eyes visible Sasuke had a clear view of his bitter expression.  "The Mist’s plan was to have her rescued, and subsequently release the tailed beast into Konoha.  When I found her she was being chased by Kiri ANBU, and she . . ." He stopped for a moment, looking away again.  "She begged me to kill her, and I refused."  Sasuke waited with bated breath, not daring to speak.  It was rare for Kakashi to show any emotion, let alone speak from his own past, and the memory seemed painful enough without his butting in.

"While I was fighting the ANBU that had pursued her, she threw herself in front of my attack – the Chidori, no less – in order to protect our village and in an attempt to destroy the bijuu.  I didn't realize it until much later, and I only recently put the events together myself.  It seems that the Curse of Hatred lives on even for non-Uchiha," he finished bitterly, closing his eyes.  When he opened them again his Sharingan was back to normal, and he quickly covered the eye with his forehead protector.  "Sasuke, this eye is not worth obtaining for the loss you must endure.  You should hope to never attain it."  His student looked away, staring off at nothing for a time.

It took Sasuke nearly ten minutes to gather himself to respond, facing Kakashi again.  "There's no other way, is there?"

“I’m not sure; I’m not of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke.  Everything I know of the Sharingan I learned from observation and experience.  If there is another way to obtain the Mangekyou, I don’t know of it.  But if the Curse of Hatred is involved, it’s likely the only way.”  Sasuke went silent again, staring off into space.  “You’re seeking power for the right reasons, Sasuke.  But do not be tempted to seek it in the wrong ways.”  The boy shivered once, remembering Naruto’s words.  _The right way._

“Right,” Sasuke started, sighing and running a hand through his hair.  “Anyway, can you explain again how I can step into somebody else’s mind to break them out of a genjutsu?  Can I invade people’s minds in the same way?”

Kakashi began a lengthy explanation of the Sharingan’s power of suggestion, following it up with an in-depth analysis of how the doujutsu allowed an advanced user to step into parts of another person’s subconscious.  Haku lay still nearby, his dark eyes staring out to where the sun had fallen.

_To be unable to reach one’s full potential without sacrificing a precious person . . . What a terrible fate._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“No,” Jiraiya said firmly for the umpteenth time.  “I gave you my conditions already, and I won’t make an exception.  You’re going to learn this technique before I even think about loosening your seal.”  He was sitting cross-legged atop the center stump of the third training ground.  Naruto stood below, looking obstinate with his arms folded across his chest.

**_Don’t argue with him; he’s offering to teach you an advanced jutsu._ **

_Fine, fine; I thought you wanted to ‘stretch your legs’ or whatever._

**_There’s plenty of time for that later, and I’m interested to hear more about this Rasengan.  In theory it’s a Bijuudama for you mortals._ **

_A what?_ Naruto asked, though aloud he said, “Alright, sorry.  I just thought – since I’ve spent a week training to balance the Kyuubi’s chakra – that I’d be ready.”

“Not until I’m more confident in your control.  Here.” Jiraiya reached into his belt pouch and tossed a water balloon to his student.  Naruto caught it carefully, quirking an eyebrow and looking at Jiraiya before glancing aside towards Hinata.  She shrugged, seeming curious but unperturbed.  She was sitting against the trunk of a nearby tree, enjoying the shade and watching Naruto’s training.  Jiraiya followed his look and grinned, winking slyly at the girl.  Hinata flushed and looked away.

“You sure it’s okay for your girlfriend to be here?” Jiraiya asked, loud enough that they could both hear him clearly.

“The medic-nin said that she was fine to leave the hospital as long as she rested for another two weeks.  Besides, it’s always nicer to be outside than in those stuffy rooms.”  He tried his best to answer straight without blushing at his sensei’s choice of words, but the slightest bit of pink tinted his cheeks and gave him away.  Jiraiya let out a hearty laugh.  Hinata was busy plucking blades of grass, determinedly not listening.  "Anyway," Naruto continued, "What's this for?"  He hefted the water balloon, still eyeing it doubtfully.

"That's where your training starts," Jiraiya explained, nodding at the balloon.  "I explained how the Rasengan is supposed to work; it doesn't require any hand seals, but you must have very precise chakra control to start the currents.  After you manage to get it going it becomes self-sustaining, but getting there is the hard part.  This is a very advanced jutsu, even among A-rank techniques."  _He has the chakra capacity to pull it off, but if he's lacking in control like Kakashi says it may be beyond his ability._

"Ano . . . Sorry, sensei, but could you explain what the water balloon is for then?  Am I supposed to put chakra into it or something?"

"Sort of," Jiraiya conceded.  He held out his hand out palm-up so that Naruto could see clearly.  Chakra began to concentrate his eyes, innumerable strands of blue energy rotating in every direction.  After a few seconds the sphere seemed to solidify due to the amassed chakra, becoming an orb of raw power with a blinding white core.  "The goal is to be able to manifest and rotate your chakra in such a way that it flows into a spherical shape, like this.  The first step is to learn to move your chakra like that in an enclosed space.  Get it?"  Naruto nodded slowly, staring at the Rasengan with wide, fascinated eyes.  Jiraiya grinned and vanished in a plume of smoke, reappearing by a tree across the clearing from Hinata.  With a simple thrust of his palm he drove the orb into the tree trunk.  Naruto had expected some violent explosion, or at least something more devastating.  But what happened was even more impressive, if not as dramatic as he had imagined.  The rapidly rotating chakra bored smoothly into the tree, turning the dense wood to dust.  It took only a second to pass completely through trunk, which must have been at least half a meter thick.

"Whoa . . ." Naruto breathed, staring at hole.  He looked down at the water balloon, then back up at Jiraiya.  When the old man’s hand drew back the Rasengan was still there, and only after he smirked back at Naruto did the sphere diminish.

“Get it now?” Jiraiya asked, meandering back to the center of the clearing.

“Yeah, that was . . . Incredible.”  He paused for a moment, shaking his head and looking to the balloon in his hand again.  “So I need to use my chakra to move the water around in a bunch of different directions at the same time, right?”  The Sage blinked down at Naruto, very clearly surprised.

“Yes, exactly right.  How’d you figure that out so quickly?”  Naruto shrugged, and then took on a thoughtful expression.

“Well, when you first made it, it looked like the chakra was . . . Uh . . . It was . . .”

“Coalescing?” Hinata offered, her tentative tone carrying from nearby.  Naruto grinned over at her and nodded.

“Yeah, coalescing, but from a lot of directions at once.  It was hard to see after it all came together, but it looked like the chakra was spinning a bunch of different ways.”  Jiraiya gave Hinata another wink before turning back to Naruto with an approving look.

“I’m glad you were paying attention; that’s the principle of the technique.  But knowing the way to do it and actually pulling it off are two different things.  Here,” he said, tossing two more water balloons to Naruto.  “From what I’ve heard you’ve got a knack for learning new jutsu.  I’ll leave you some extras just in case you drop that one.  The goal is to pop the balloon using only the chakra rotation, got it?”  When Naruto nodded excitedly Jiraiya turned with a wave, moving off towards the woods.  “I’ve got more information to gather in town.  I’ll be back to check on you in a few hours, but–”

_Pop._

Jiraiya stopped in his tracks.  He turned around slowly, eyebrows rising as he sighted the remains of the balloon dangling from Naruto’s fingers.  Hinata was smiling at the boy, and he looked sheepishly pleased with himself.

“Er . . . You’re not supposed to squeeze it or anything,” Jiraiya started, but Naruto spoke up before he could continue.

“I did it the right way, sensei.  Here, look!” He picked up one of the balloons at his feet, his features becoming focused as he raised his hand up.  After a second the thin rubber began to quaver, a multitude of tiny bulges covered its surface in rapid succession, and then it exploded.  Naruto relaxed and looked to Jiraiya, clearly ecstatic.  “See?  I did it!”

“I suppose you did . . .” _I didn’t expect it to take him long, but to do it that fast . . ._ “How did you know how to do it?”

“Hinata-chan has been helping Sasuke and I with our chakra control for years; she’s the best at it.”  Hinata blushed and looked down, mumbling something indistinct about compliments.  Naruto smirked and went on, glowing.  “She had us do lots of exercises that were kind of similar; we had to create little twisters in water glasses, we hung stuff from a string and spun it in a circle between us, we played catch once but only used our chakra to catch or throw – I was really bad at it at first – and . . .” Naruto went on for a few more examples before Jiraiya held up his hand to stop him, smiling and shaking his head.

“Alright, alright, I got it.”  His gaze flickered again to Hinata, a higher degree of respect in his eyes.  “Your girlfriend’s smart, and extremely talented to have come up with all of that on her own.  You’re a lucky kid.”  Both Naruto and Hinata turned a little red, but they were still beaming at one another.

“So what’s next, Jiraiya-sensei?  Do I get to try the Rasengan?”

“Slow down,” he responded, reaching beneath his short green kimono and pulling out a white ball.  “You need to master the second part of the training now, and I guarantee this will be more difficult.”  He tossed the thick rubber ball to his student, who caught and examined it.

“Do I need to do the same thing with this one, only stronger?” Naruto asked, still a little exuberant.

“Yes, and no,” Jiraiya said merrily, ruffling the boy’s hair and turning away again.  “This time you only have your chakra; there’s no water to help you.  This part tests your power, so don’t hesitate to go all out or you won’t do it right.  Remember: it has to pop, and punctures don’t count.  There’s a whole bag of those by the memorial over there.”  He walked slowly to make sure the highly unlikely wouldn’t occur, and when no loud noise met his ears he grinned and disappeared into the woods.

Naruto set into the new task with as much vigor as the first, but soon found that Jiraiya hadn’t been toying with him.  His first attempt only caused the ball to shudder and deform a little before it settled back out.  _I guess this won’t be easy after all._

**_You think?_** the Kyuubi drawled, yawning in his mind.  **_He said to go all out, and you barely put anything into that._**

_I was just testing it,_ Naruto glowered, though he smiled reassuringly at Hinata when he saw her peering at him.  Then he concentrated, pouring energy into a multi-directional rotation within the ball.  Visible chakra rose up around him, flickering like azure flames as he focused harder.  In the same fashion as the balloon the sphere began to distend, vibrating violently in his palm.  A few seconds later a hole burst through one side, releasing a small stream of chakra and deflating the ball completely.

"Ah crap,” he muttered, trotting to the bag and carrying it back to the stumps nearer to Hinata.

“What happened?” Hinata asked, peering at the discarded ball.  “Did you use enough chakra?”

“I don’t know; I put about as much as I could inside and did the same thing as the balloon, but for some reason it didn’t work the same way.  Do you think it’s different because there isn’t any water?”

“Probably,” she said slowly, tapping her index finger to her lips thoughtfully.  “It did some of the work in creating disruption inside the balloon, at least.  This way it’s only your chakra, and it looks like the ball is a lot thicker.”

“Hmm . . . I guess I’ll keep trying and see if I can figure something out.  Would you mind helping me, just by watching and seeing if you can see something?”  Hinata smiled and nodded.

“Of course I will, Naruto-kun.  Did you think I’d just sit here and watch you?” she teased.  He laughed, which got her cheeks aglow again.  There was just something about Naruto’s laugh that made her feel warm inside.

“Why aren’t you wearing your jacket today, by the way?” Naruto asked after a moment, blinking down at her curiously.  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you out of it.  Well, except that one time when I didn’t know you were in the washroom . . .” He trailed off, flushing at the recollection.  He had been silently grateful, at least, that she had been almost done getting dressed.  Hinata shared his blush and began her response tentatively, chewing absently at her lower lip during the longer pauses.

“Ano . . . It was warm today, a-and I felt comfortable without it . . .” She looked down, suddenly very self-conscious.  She had taken to wearing the heavy coat years ago, in part because it hid the bruises of her father’s training.  It had also helped hide her body in general; Hinata had been insecure about her figure ever since the other girls in class started talking about such things.  When she was eleven Ino had made a comment about her physique, insinuating that ‘a pencil had more curves’ than she did.  The memory had stuck with her ever since.

“Oh, well,” Naruto started awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck and turning a bit more red.  “I think you look nice without it on, too.  You shouldn’t wear it all the time if it’s uncomfortable.”  Hinata looked back up at him, momentarily taken aback by his assertion.  It was the closest thing to a compliment on her body that she’d ever heard, and coming from Naruto . . .

“P-pardon?” she asked, not sure what to think.  Naruto’s deepening blush only confirmed his honesty.

“I mean, if you like the jacket you could keep it too.  I was just saying that – well, I mean I like seeing more of you.  No wait – that’s not what I meant!” he said quickly, fumbling with his words and feeling like he was only digging a deeper hole.  Finally he turned around, too embarrassed to face her.  “I mean you’re pretty no matter what you wear, Hinata-chan!”  Before the stunned girl could even think to get a word out Naruto was jogging back into the clearing.  Hinata could have sworn that his ears were trailing steam as he ran off.

Naruto returned to his training zealously, determined to work out the secret before Jiraiya returned, and also to work off the minor dose of adrenaline from the conversation with Hinata.  She sat nearby and observed, trying to calm down and process what had just happened.  After a time she refocused, putting in suggestions and trying to figure out the technique from afar, but it wasn’t the only thing trying to work itself out in her mind.

_Those two work well together.  And they’re so damn cute; it almost hurts._ Jiraiya chuckled quietly to himself as he left his hiding place, finally making his way towards the bath house.  _Naruto definitely inherited his father’s talent, and his mother’s heart._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

The casual onlooker might describe Sasuke's movement as unobservable, but Kakashi was not the average spectator.  He followed his student's movements closely, at times having to raise his hitai-ate to watch with his Sharingan.  Haku had been bombarding Sasuke with ice shards for well over an hour now, and the Uchiha had yet to be struck.  His eyes raced around within the confines of the technique, and he moved with such fluidity and speed that every action was a blur.  Sasuke never stopped moving, but Kakashi could tell that he was getting tired.  _Only a few more minutes._

It was in the final thirty seconds of his two hour goal that Sasuke finally slipped up.  He ended a series of back handsprings on a spot of melting ice, losing his footing and beginning to fall backwards.  He ground his teeth and let out an aggravated growl.  The nearest shards were only a meter away, with more coming from several other mirrors further off.  _Like hell I'm losing here._   Rather than attempt to correct his misstep Sasuke gathered his remaining chakra, twisting and forcing as much as he could into his palms.  He caught himself in a pushup position with the flying needles hardly half a meter from him.  In the fraction of a second remaining he kicked his feet up and pushed hard with his arms, rocketing skyward.  His feet hit the overhead panel with enough force to make it crack, and he rebounded off to the side an instant later.  Sasuke tumbled to his feet, his breath ragged, but there was a clear triumphant gleam in his eyes.

The jutsu abruptly ceased, and all but one of the mirrors shattered and fell to the ground.  Haku slowly emerged from the final pane, seeming to struggle free rather than step easily away as he normally might have.  Sasuke rushed forward and caught the other boy before he fell, easing him to the ground.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun," Haku said with a weak smile, closing his eyes.  "I'm sorry . . . I'm just a little tired.  I've never had to do it for that long without a break in between."

"Well done," Kakashi remarked as he approached, giving Haku an approving nod as well.  "It's time to start your real training now.  Haku, you'll have a few days off to recuperate.  You'll be able to help again later on."  The exhausted youth had already fallen asleep.

"Can I get a few minutes to catch my breath?" Sasuke sighed, standing and stretching slowly.  "I've been at this for a week now."

"You only have two weeks left until the exam since you spent so much time at the hospital."  Sasuke scowled, but Kakashi smirked and shrugged in a conciliatory manner.  "But that was necessary, I suppose.  Now we're in a time crunch, though, and you have to master the Chidori quickly.  And when you're too low on chakra to attempt the technique, like right now, we'll do other training."  The jounin stepped over to a large black duffle bag by his own bedroll, withdrawing a pair of weapons and tossing them to Sasuke.

"Weapons training?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the two blades in his hands.  They were both of plain but sturdy make, worn with use but no less sharp for it.  The longer of the two was a medium-length straight katana with a jagged point rather than the traditional curved end.  The smaller weapon was a wakizashi fashioned in an identical style.

“You’ve shown a lot of promise with swordplay, and this combination in particular you excel with.  As I’ve said, being able to use all ninja tools is important, but you should have a handful that you truly master.  Hinata seems to be getting pretty good with those inverted daggers that Tenten gave her; the only person I’ve ever seen master those is Asuma.  Bukijutsu isn’t Naruto’s forte, but he’s still trying to find his preferred weapon.  Do you have another that you’d rather use?”  Kakashi watched as Sasuke considered his inquiry, but as expected the boy shook his head.  He held the longer of the two in his right hand, and in his left the shorter blade was flipped with blunt edge running parallel with his forearm.

“I’d already decided on these,” Sasuke shrugged.  “I just wasn’t expecting to focus on weapon training out here.”

“Your first match is against Gaara, remember?  I detailed Lee’s encounter with him, so you know just how well he can defend against taijutsu.  The speed training you’ve been undertaking combined with the Chidori will be enough to get through his defenses, but it wouldn’t hurt to have something else in your arsenal.”  Sasuke couldn’t argue with that.  While he didn’t have the chakra for much else, he could definitely do some sparring.  His sensei didn’t allow him any time to consider if he was up for it, however.

The only thing that allowed Sasuke to deflect Kakashi’s kunai was his Sharingan, and even with it still active he had barely seen his teacher move.  Without any warning Kakashi was upon him, wielding a single kunai and holding his other arm behind his back.  Even with the handicap – and without his Sharingan – the jounin was nigh impossible to keep up with.  It took every bit of dexterity Sasuke possessed to defend against the assault.

It was just after noon when Kakashi called a halt, allowing his battered student to collapse gratefully on the nearest clear patch of ground.  “We’ll break for a few hours to eat and rest so that you can replenish your chakra; your first lesson with the Chidori will come later.”  He sat down cross-legged, eyeing Sasuke flatly.  The boy’s eyes were closed against the harsh sunlight above, and his breathing was only just beginning to return to normal.  “Lunch is whenever you bring something back for us.”  Sasuke scowled but didn’t get up, instead lifting his hands to form the tiger seal.

“Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu,” he mumbled, and a second later another Sasuke bounded off and down into the ravine that their rock pillar towered above.  He opened one eye to catch Kakashi’s disapproving look, but only smirked and closed it again.  “I’m still getting it, just without moving.  There’s always a rabbit down there somewhere; I think the clone will be fine against a rodent.”  Kakashi smiled wryly back at him and shrugged.  _That’s what you get for using water clones so often when we spar, sensei._

An hour later they were relaxing against a small rock outcropping, discussing Gaara’s abilities in depth.  Sasuke had woken Haku briefly to let him eat, but his friend was once again fast asleep.

“Although,” Kakashi paused, in the middle of picking apart the ability Gaara used to create the shell of sand that covered his skin.  “We could always just ask him how much chakra it consumes.”  Sasuke blinked over at him curiously, then narrowed his eyes and was on his feet in a flash.  “It’s not polite to sneak around.  What do you want, Gaara of the Sand?”

The jinchuuriki stepped slowly from behind a boulder.  His arms were crossed, and his features were as impassive as ever.  The killing intent emanating from the boy was enough to send a chill down Sasuke’s spine.  Gaara acted like Kakashi wasn’t there, simply staring at Sasuke.

“I came to observe,” he began calmly.  “And to get your word that you will be at the final portion of the Chuunin Exam.”

“Why wouldn’t I be there?” Sasuke asked warily, relaxing his stance.  Despite the murderous aura Gaara didn’t appear to be interested in fighting.  “Did you expect me to run away?”

“Yes,” Gaara responded flatly.  He didn’t appear to be joking.  “But you seem determined to fight.  That’s good.  I’ve wanted to kill you since I first saw you, Uchiha Sasuke.”

“After hearing about what you tried to do to Lee, I can say that the feeling is mutual.  But I’m not about to let you spy on my training.  Go back to Konoha and be patient; I promise I’ll be there to kick your ass in two weeks.”

“I look forward to that day.” The small smile that Gaara offered was one of the most disturbing things Sasuke had ever seen.  Without another word the Suna-nin vanished in a whirlwind of sand, leaving a fairly annoyed pair in his wake.

“That seemed like a waste of his time,” Sasuke muttered, slumping back down as he felt Gaara’s chakra fade away.  “Does he not have training of his own to do?  His attitude pisses me off.”

“I believe I told you that overconfidence is one of his weak points,” Kakashi chided, though he didn’t sound any more excited about the other boy showing up.  “He truly intends to kill you, Sasuke.  If he came all the way out here just to make sure that you’d show up for the exam, you can bet on it.”

“Didn’t you say that my speed is nearing Lee’s now?  I shouldn’t have a problem beating him if I can outrun the sand and get a Chidori strike off.”

“That’s if you can master it in such a short time period.  I know your chakra control and capacity are good enough, but being able to push that much energy into your hand takes immense concentration.  In theory it’s not difficult to learn; I expect you to have it formed in days, if not hours.  But as I’ve explained, you _can not_ overuse it or you risk dying.”  Kakashi waited for Sasuke to nod before he continued.  “You probably have enough chakra for one or two attempts now, so let’s get started.  Tomorrow we’ll figure out how many you can manage per day.”

Sasuke pushed himself up, and despite his casual demeanor he was excited.  By Kakashi's own admission the Chidori was his only original technique, and its significant drawbacks could be counteracted by the Sharingan.  It was the perfect ability for an Uchiha.

"I'll show you once.  I can only use it a few times per day, so pay attention to my chakra flow."  Sasuke nodded and focused his eyes on Kakashi.  His sensei took a few steps back and lowered his left hand, bringing his right over to grip it at the wrist.  For a few seconds nothing happened, but then Sasuke saw huge amounts of chakra surging towards Kakashi's left palm, gathering there and building until its intensity nearly forced him to look away.  Pure electricity crackled in Kakashi's hand, sending continuous arcs of blinding blue light spiking in every direction.  It was the most chakra Sasuke had ever seen concentrated in such a small area.

"This is the Chidori," Kakashi continued, straightening and extending his arm, as if Sasuke wasn’t able to see it already.  "There are only a few things this can't cut through, and those there's the Raikiri.  That, however, you'll need more chakra to be able to handle."

"But it's only used as a thrust?" Sasuke questioned.  "I mean, I know that with my speed and the Sharingan it won't be difficult to land on the average opponent.  I was expecting it to be a little more versatile.”

"It's one of thousands of ninjutsu; do you expect every one to have multiple uses?" Sasuke shrugged, and Kakashi allowed himself a small smirk.  "If your control gets good enough you can do a few other things with it, like imbuing projectiles.  But stick with the basics for now; I think this will be enough."  As if to emphasize his point he turned, dashing forward and plunging his palm towards the rock face that Sasuke had been leaning on.  The white-hot chakra simply melted into the stone, and cracks formed all around the impact point.  Kakashi withdrew his hand as the technique faded and died, leaving behind a grooved hole half a meter deep.  "I invented the Chidori to serve as a fool-proof assassination technique.  With the Sharingan active you can move at high speeds and still be wary of your surroundings and react appropriately.  However, in order to avoid complications I would only use it when your opponent is unable to move.  There are no rules in the final round fights, so you are allowed to kill Gaara if you must.  But I trust you'll use your judgement when it comes to that."

"If he intends to see me dead, I won't hold back," Sasuke said simply, glancing again at the half-melted indentation.  "I have a bad feeling about him, though.  I don't think I'll lose, but then again if he's anything like Naruto and capable of using his bijuu's chakra . . ."

"Then you should give up immediately," Kakashi finished for him.  Sasuke grimaced and shook his head, prompting his teacher to go on.  "Sasuke, at your current level you can likely keep up with Naruto when he has the Kyuubi's chakra active.  But remember what he said, too: Gaara is the Ichibi's tool.  There's no telling what he's capable of if he's not the one in control."

"I know that, but wouldn't the match be stopped if things got bad anyway?"

"That's not guaranteed; think about it.  How many people even know what a jinchuuriki's power looks like?  Most in our village will be familiar with the Kyuubi's chakra if Naruto uses it against Neji, but not necessarily another tailed beast's.  The chakra might be strong and even malevolent, but if the Demon Fox can be trusted then it could be mistaken for Gaara's own ability."

"Good point, I guess," Sasuke sighed, running his fingers through his hair.  "I'll do whatever I can to win," he said.  As Kakashi's eyebrow rose expectantly he concluded with a resigned, solemn promise.  "And I'll make sure to give up if I think it's too dangerous."  Every fiber of his being protested the statement; this was an opportunity to fight a strong adversary, possibly to the death.  Exam or not, this was a chance to test himself in real combat.  He wouldn't surrender unless it was the last available course of action.

"Now that we got that out of the way, it's time for a change of clothes."  It was Sasuke's turn to raise an eyebrow as Kakashi stepped over to the duffle, rummaging through it until he found what he was looking for.  "Here, I had these made for you in preparation for this technique.  It's time for a change of wardrobe anyway."  He tossed a black bundle over to his student, then turned towards the edge of the cliff.  "I'm going to climb while you change; you have ten minutes, give or take."  Without pausing to make sure Sasuke had heard he leapt over the edge, plummeting out of sight.

"There's nothing wrong with my clothes," Sasuke muttered, though he quickly realized Kakashi's intent when he unfolded the garments.  They were largely the same as his own, but made of a thicker material.  There was a new pair of black rubber tabi wrapped inside, along with four long, thick rubber cords.  Kakashi had been considerate enough to get the high-collared shirt embroidered with the Uchiha clan symbol as well.  "I guess there's nothing wrong with these either."

It took him a few short minutes to change, though after he had finished the four cords were still lying on the ground.  He smirked slightly as he realized their purpose, picking them up one by one and wrapping one around each of his limbs.  When he was finished he checked the bands, one spiraling up each forearm and one binding each lower leg to his footwear.   _Leave it to Kakashi to work in safety precautions and make them stylish._

"Done?" Kakashi grunted, landing just after pulling himself over a nearby ledge.  Perspiration shimmered on his brow, and his breathing was slightly labored.  Sasuke was going to ask what he had been doing when he heard ropes snapping, and Kakashi brought his other arm from behind his back, flexing his wrist.  He had climbed the entire way up with one arm – without using chakra.

"Yeah," Sasuke replied with a small, disbelieving laugh.  Kakashi's climb seemed like something Gai would have attempted; sometimes it wasn't hard to see why they got along.

"Good.  Then let's get started."

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

"Ugh," Naruto groaned, collapsing next to Hinata.  "I've been at this all day and I still can't figure out why it won't work.  It just keeps making one or two holes and that's it."  Hinata was wearing a sympathetic expression as she laid a hand on his arm, smiling encouragingly.

"It took the Fourth years to develop that technique, Naruto-kun.  I'm sure you'll get it with some more practice; it's not fair to yourself to expect to learn it so quickly."

"I know," he sighed, "I just wish I knew what I was doing wrong."

**_I don't think you're concentrating your chakra right._** Naruto blinked, then flashed Hinata a quick smile before turning inward to address the fox.

_What do you mean?  I'm doing exactly what Jiraiya said to do, right?_

**_Yes and no.  It's just an idea, but you're probably not focusing the chakra well enough.  Do you remember what his Rasengan looked like?_** Naruto pictured the sphere in his mind, then nodded.   ** _What do you see?_**

_The Rasengan,_ he replied with a wry smirk, eliciting an annoyed growl from the Kyuubi.   _Lots of blue chakra, with some white and yellow mixed in I guess.  It's rotating really fast in lots of directions.  What else am I supposed to see?_

**_The colors are the important parts.  Ask her about it._ **

_Ah . . . Okay.  Why can't you just tell me?_ As expected the fox remained smugly silent.  "The Kyuubi thinks that the color was important," he started aloud, holding up his right hand.  It was shaking a little, and there were small scorch marks around his palm.  The Rasengan took an immense amount of chakra to form, and this step especially required him to use a lot of it in one place.  "All I remember was that it was kind of white in the middle, and sorta blue with tiny flecks of yellow on the outside.  What do you think?"

"Well," Hinata said pensively, "It probably means that there's more chakra concentrated in the center, and it lessens as you get further out.  But you knew that already."  He blinked again and looked down at his hand.

"I've been putting all of the chakra inside the ball, yeah, but I wasn't really thinking about putting it all in one place.  Just . . . Inside somewhere."  It was Hinata's turn to look surprised, but she quickly recovered and flushed slightly.

"I'm sorry; I should have said something sooner . . ." Naruto glanced over and grinned, flipping his hand over and covering hers with a soft squeeze.

"It's not your fault; I should've figured it out sooner," he laughed.  As always his good humor was infectious, and before she knew it she was smiling back at him.  "So I should try to put it all into a smaller point at the center of the ball, then?"  She nodded, looking off towards the bag that Jiraiya had left that morning.  Naruto had already gone through most of them, leaving only half a dozen remaining.  "What'll that do exactly?"

"I'm not sure, but the more chakra you concentrate into that point the stronger it should be when you release it.  Be careful," she added, turning her gaze worriedly back to his hand.  "You've already hurt yourself a few times, and even you can run out of chakra."

"I will be," Naruto promised.  "Thanks, Hinata-chan."  He grinned and gave her hand another squeeze before jumping back to his feet and hurrying to the bag.  He lifted the white ball, sparing a glance for the scores scattered around the clearing in various tattered states.  As he had done every time, he turned towards Hinata so she could see clearly, nodded to her once, then focused.

The familiar blue glow of chakra surrounded him as he pushed energy into the sphere, trying his best to force it all to the center.  Naruto could tell something was different this time.  The ball began to quake violently, and he had to hold on tight to keep it in his palm.  He kept pouring chakra into it until he was straining to give it even a sliver more.   _Now._   All at once, directed by the image of rotation in his mind's eye, the chakra exploded inside of the ball.  In an uncontrolled torrent it lashed out at the rubber walls, and before Naruto could even think to stop it the chakra shredded through the ball and exploded in his palm.  He yelped and flew backwards with the force of the detonation, hitting the center post with a grunt and falling to the ground.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata called anxiously, wincing as she struggled to her feet.

"I'm fine," he coughed, waving towards her and rolling to his back.  "Just winded; don't get up."  Despite his wheezing he looked ecstatic.  Hinata was still worried as she sank back down, though she was glad no real harm had come to him.  It never ceased to amaze her how Naruto always thought of her condition and needs over his own, even after getting blasted across a clearing.

"Come here when you can," she said tersely.  Somebody had to be concerned about his potential injuries, and she knew that he wouldn't be.  Her tone sobered Naruto's expression to a small grin; she’d be upset if he didn't let her mend the bruise he could feel spreading across the small of his back.  He kicked his legs up and used the momentum to propel himself to a standing position, wincing slightly as the bruised muscles flexed.  Naruto trotted to the tree, still beaming.  Hinata smiled back, though she waited patiently until he sat down in front of her.

"You were right," he said cheerily, trying not to notice how her hands felt as they slid under his coat and pressed gingerly against his back to begin healing.  "I just had to put more chakra in a smaller area, then it sorta . . . blew up, I guess.  I didn't expect it to be that violent, though."

"How much chakra did you put into it?" Hinata asked, doing her best to ignore the toned muscles she was touching.

"I dunno," Naruto responded truthfully, thinking about it.  "It took a lot of chakra I know, and my hand hurts like hell now.  Probably a third of what I had left."  It took her a moment to try to work out the rough math, but she shook her head and activated her Byakugan instead.  It was much easier to judge his current capacity by looking.  Her sharp intake of breath told him something was wrong.  "What's up?"

"Naruto-kun, your . . . Well, I've never seen your chakra so low before, except for when you went unconscious after summoning too many clones.  You obviously have more than that, but not much."  Naruto looked over his shoulder at her and blinked a few times, then shrugged.

"I feel okay, but I don't think I should be trying that again today."  Hinata was taken aback by his admission, but incredibly relieved that he had decided it for himself.  She had been on the verge of asking him to take the rest of the day off.  "I don't want to push myself too hard and not be able to train tomorrow, right?"

"Right," Hinata agreed, allowing the green glow to fade as she finished.  She lowered his jacket and stared at his back for a moment, disabling her Byakugan.  The blue currents of Naruto’s chakra circulatory system were replaced by the black of his coat, and before she could argue with the impulse she slipped her arms around his waist and hugged him from behind.

Naruto tensed for only a second before moving his hand down to take one of hers.  Hinata had been doing things like that lately, and while he didn't know where the newfound spontaneity was coming from he had gotten used to it.  Besides, how could he argue with a hug from Hinata?  "You okay?" he asked after a moment, lacing his fingers between hers.

"I'm fine," she said quietly into his back, resting her cheek against his shoulder.  "Just thinking."

"About what?" The question was innocent enough, but she hesitated in answering.  There were a lot of things on her mind.  Tenten had visited her in the hospital almost every day, and while the majority of their conversations were light and enjoyable, occasionally they touched on more serious topics.  At the moment she was reflecting on their first talk.  Hinata had assured Tenten that she would tell Naruto after the final exam, but she felt uneasy about it for some reason.  Perhaps taking her friend’s advice and telling him sooner would be best.

"Naruto-kun?" she began, loosening her hold on him a little so that she could rest her forehead between his shoulder blades.  "How . . ." Her heart rate spiked noticeably, and she could feel the heat rising in her chest.  It was only a few words; she just had to get them out.  "W-what do you think about . . . us?"

"Us?" Naruto queried.  The pink spreading across his face would have told Hinata that he had an idea of what she was talking about if she could have seen it.  "What do you mean?"

She closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath.  This was it.  She could do it.   _Just say it.  Tell him; you might not get a chance later,_  she told herself firmly.  Hinata had opened her mouth to speak, but before she could start the most inappropriately timed plume of smoke erupted beside them.  Naruto leapt to his feet in surprise, and Hinata let out a small, startled gasp.  Both of them had been too distracted to notice Jiraiya’s approach.

"Not slacking off, are you?" the Sage said crossly, folding his arms as he looked down at Naruto.  He blinked a few times when he noticed their expressions, then grinned and rubbed at the back of his neck.  "Sorry, sorry!  Was I interrupting a tender moment?  I can come back-"

"No!" they said together, catching each other's eye and looking away quickly.  "Sensei," Naruto continued, gaining back a bit of his enthusiasm.  "I finished the second step!"

"Oh?" Jiraiya looked around, frowning towards the pillars.  "Where's the ball then?"

"It ah . . . Well it sort of exploded – like it was supposed to, I think.  See?"  Naruto held up his slightly charred hand – he was still holding the remains of the rubber ball.  "Hinata-chan suggested that I should try concentrating the chakra into one spot, and after I tried that it worked no problem.  I just put as much chakra as I could into one place and let it go.  Is that right?"  Jiraiya glanced down at Hinata, who was flushing predictably.

"Aye, that's correct.  I take it the rest of these you've just been putting chakra into the whole ball?"

"Yeah, I guess so.  The Kyuubi told me that the colors were important, and from that Hinata-chan figured out that the center was a lot whiter because there was more chakra concentrated there.  I guess I kind of cheated," he continued sheepishly, scratching at the back of his head.  "But it still counts, doesn't it?"  To his surprise, Jiraiya laughed.

"Kid, there's no such thing as cheating when it comes to being a shinobi.  In order to survive and get stronger you should take all the help you can get.  I'm glad Hinata was here to help you, and . . . I guess it's helpful that the Kyuubi contributed."  That thought caused him to pause, but he shook off the unease.  If the Demon Fox was providing its aid then he couldn't be upset.  But he was wary of the bijuu's trickery nonetheless.  "Can you do it again so that I can see?" Naruto looked even more embarrassed now, shuffling his feet.

"I sorta used up most of my chakra already, and I don't think I should use any more."

"Use the Kyuubi's chakra," Jiraiya responded easily, winking at him.  "This is a good opportunity to prove that you're in control of it, since you'll need to call up quite a bit to make the ball explode again."

**_Go ahead,_** the Kyuubi said lazily before Naruto could ask.   ** _Maybe he'll finally loosen the damn seal if you don't screw it up._**

_You know how much chakra to put into it, right?  I don't want too much or it might blow up worse than last time._   He was a bit disturbed to find that he understood the fox's subsequent growl as an affirmative.

"Alright, I can do that," Naruto responded cheerily, stepping a good distance into the clearing just in case.   _Okay, one point at the center._ He retrieved another ball and held it palm-up, and then he focused.  A thin haze of orange chakra formed around him instead of the lively blue fire from before, and as he began channeling the chakra it felt quite a bit different as well.  The fundamentals were the same, though, and immediately the ball began to twitch and bulge like the other one had.  Naruto was forced to tone down the Kyuubi’s chakra, else the result would have been much stronger than the last time.   _Center.  Just at the center._   The chakra gathered quickly, and before long his hand began to tremble and ache with the strain.   _And . . . Release!_ The effect wasn’t much different this time around, except that when it burst it was a much less violent explosion.  When the shreds of rubber cleared out of the way, however, the blast of chakra was very clearly dark red mixed with a deep violet rather than the earlier blue.

**_Get that stupid look off of your face; how many times have I told you that my chakra is stronger than yours?  And how many damn times do you have to use it to augment your ninjutsu before you'll get it into your thick head that it makes your abilities more powerful?_ **

_It usually doesn't change the colors,_  Naruto retorted, scowling.

**_Do you use any other techniques that concentrate huge amounts of chakra in one place?_** the Kyuubi ventured sarcastically.

_One of these days I'm going to figure out how to punch your damn face inside my head._

"Well done!" Jiraiya beamed, clapping Naruto across the shoulders and making him stumble forward.  "But the last step is the hardest, as I've already told you.  Combining both the first and second lessons together won't be easy no matter how much you've practiced chakra control, and no matter how much chakra you put into it."  He smirked as Naruto straightened and turned to him with a triumphant smile, but his features also appeared a little tight and touched with fatigue.  "That's enough for today, though; even if you use the Kyuubi's chakra, your own is too depleted to do much more right now.  Take the rest of the day off, and get some rest."  The boy's lips parted to protest, but he glanced at Hinata and changed his mind.

"Yes, sensei," he said instead, bowing before heading over to help Hinata to her feet.  Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow at his new student's rush, but only chuckled and turned to go back to the hot springs to do more . . . researching.

“Did you still want to go shopping?” Naruto asked as Hinata took his arm for support.  “We can wait a few more days if you need more rest.”

“I’m alright to walk around,” she insisted, giving his arm a light squeeze.  “Besides I . . . I want to get some new clothes.”  A blush rose steadily on her cheeks as she recalled his remarks from the other day.  “I think I’ve grown out of my old ones.”  _In more ways than one._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“The owner says they close in half an hour,” Naruto called through the dressing area’s curtain.  “So you’ve got plenty of time to try everything on, don’t worry.”  He didn’t feel like it was a good idea to share the dirty looks he had received when going to ask about how long the store was open.

“O-okay,” Hinata said from the other side.  Her voice sounded small and a little nervous.  Clothes and accessories lay in neat piles around her, including everything from various sashes to different designs of chainmail.  She pressed her fingers together, unable to think of much beyond the fact that Naruto was standing only a meter or two away from her while she stood in her undergarments.

“You can always start with your favorite colors,” Naruto suggested.  That snapped her out of her reverie, summoning a blush and a quick nod at nothing in particular.  She began separating things out, setting aside lavender and crème-colored items to try on.  “That’s the fun of looking for clothes, I think,” he started again, sounding thoughtful.  “You get to pick stuff you like instead of stuff you need, like ninja tools.  Except the chain stuff; I’m not letting you get away with not adding that to everything.”  He laughed, though Hinata knew that he meant it regardless.

“I’ll make sure to get some.” She took a deep breath, deciding to just start trying things on and seeing where it led.

A few minutes later the curtains rustled and Naruto straightened, watching the cloth pull back anxiously.  _Why am I nervous?_ he pondered, dismissing the thought as soon as Hinata stepped into the open.

By and large the clothes she had chosen were similar to her old ones, though there were a few notable changes.  Her capris were shorter, coming just past the knee, and they looked to be a darker shade of blue.  Her jacket had been replaced by a different kind of coat; this one was slimmer and longer than the old one.  The whole of the torso and the cuffs were purple, while the sleeves and loose hood were white.  The jacket’s zipper was down far enough to show the collar of a chain vest, underneath which she wore a simple black t-shirt.

“What do you think?” she asked diffidently, fidgeting with the hem of the coat.

“I’m kind of useless here, I think,” Naruto laughed abashedly.  “I’ll probably just say you look good in everything.”  Hinata smiled faintly, but continued fretting until he continued.  “You really like those jackets, huh?”

“N-not really,” she said defensively, forcing her hands to settle.  “I’m just . . . used to it, I guess.”  Naruto tilted his head to the side, folding his arms and studying her.  Hinata wanted to squirm under his scrutiny but she forced herself to stay very still instead.

“Well, if you don’t like it you shouldn’t wear it,” he stated matter-of-factly.  “Or you can just get it and wear it when it’s colder or something.  I mean, I usually don’t wear my coat on hot days, and it is getting to the warmer part of summer.”  Hinata nodded slowly, looking down at the jacket pensively.

“Let me try something else.”  Before he could lean back again she had disappeared behind the curtain, renewing the sounds of stirring fabric and the clinking of chainmail.  Naruto’s comment had sparked bit of inspiration, and she _was_ only clinging to the jackets out of habit.  _New clothes for a new me_ , she told herself determinedly.

When she emerged again Naruto’s jaw nearly hit the floor.  In her fervor it seemed that she had gone a bit over the top with the new outfit.  Her dark leggings – while not quite as tight as the ones Sakura usually favored – hung very close to her skin and extended almost to her knees.  She was tugging self-consciously at a short beige skirt that ran from just above her hips down to mid-thigh, with a purely aesthetic, thin leather belt hanging at an angle over it.  What took Naruto by surprise the most was that the arm she was using to tug at the skirt was passing over her bare midriff.  The attire was completed by a cutoff chain tank top, which was mostly covered by a deep indigo top of similar design.  Her shoulders and arms were left bare, something else that Naruto couldn’t overlook.

“Uh . . .” he began eloquently.  “You ah . . . Well you . . .” He couldn’t seem to get the right words out.  Even if he knew why his face was burning it would have been hard to phrase.  “You look . . . Great.  How do you like it?”

It was then that Hinata spotted herself in the mirror and realized the error she had made in her earnest.  She suddenly felt very lightheaded and visibly paled before turning the approximate shade of a ripe tomato.  Naruto was pretty sure that even Kakashi couldn’t have moved faster than Hinata did when she tore behind the curtain again.

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry!” she squeaked, sliding miserably down the wall of the dressing room.  She had never been so embarrassed in her life.  _I can’t believe I just went out there dressed so . . . so indecently._

“Er, Hinata-chan?” Naruto ventured carefully, “I don’t know why you’re apologizing, but I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings if I did.  I was just . . . surprised.  You really do look great, but . . .” She pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in her arms, hugging tightly at her legs, waiting for him to say what had to be coming.  “I don’t think that look is really . . . ‘you’, you know?  I think if you want a little more . . . Er . . .”

**_Breathability,_** the fox chortled, clearly amused.

“Breathability,” he inserted, flushing again, “That outfit would be perfect.  But maybe cover your waist with some flexible chainmail and a comfortable undershirt?  It’s up to you, though, of course,” he finished lamely, twiddling his thumbs just outside.

That was not what she had been expecting.  Hinata raised her head and glanced furtively at the curtain, biting her lip and thinking.  She wanted to show Naruto that she was at least a little different from how she used to be.  But he was right about the clothes – she had some modifications to make.

“I-I’ll be out again soon,” she stammered, standing quickly and scurrying around the small area.  She knew that she only had ten or fifteen minutes left, and that they could always return the next day, but Hinata wanted to find something then and there.

Naruto’s broad grin met her as she stepped out again, and she returned it with a bashful one of her own.  She was wearing the same style of shorts as before, though these were colored a deep violet with the familiar bandages wrapped around her right thigh.  A short skirt – light crème in color this time – fell about her hips, complete with a black accent belt.  Her waist was now covered with a close-fitting chain mesh, underneath which she wore a simple dark cotton shirt.  The top was similar as well, though now a shade similar to her capris and significantly less form-fitting.  Her right arm was left bare still, but the left now had a white cuff about the wrist with a buckle strapped around it; an identical article encircled her upper arm, and between it and her wrist she had woven bandages the same color as her skirt.  Her hitai-ate hung around her neck as usual, and her hair was tied back in a low ponytail, hanging down to just between her shoulder blades.

“You look incredible, Hinata-chan.  That’s more like you, don’t you think?”  She flushed but kept an appreciative smile, moving away from the curtain to stand next to him in front of the mirror.

“Yeah . . . I think so.”  Hinata stared at herself in the mirror, intrigued far more than she meant to be.  Naruto had been telling the truth when he had mentioned never seeing her without the coat on; she wasn’t even used to seeing herself without it.  The new attire didn’t hide her body, but it didn’t emphasize it too much either.  She didn’t want to flaunt her figure by any means, but the feeling of being out of her old clothes and into ones she had chosen with Naruto was . . . Liberating.

“Closing in five minutes!” the clerk barked from the front, making them both jump.  They shared a glance, and then Hinata broke out into a fit of giggles.  Her merriment was contagious and got Naruto laughing almost immediately as well, and for a full minute the pair fought to control the sudden bout of giddiness.

“We should get going,” Hinata said breathlessly at last, leaning on the wall.  Naruto – still chuckling a little – voiced his agreement and moved to let her take his arm.  She accepted his support gratefully, holding on tighter than she might have normally.

It was both terrifying and exhilarating to leave the store in her new outfit, but Naruto’s presence assuaged the majority of her fears and allowed her to bask in her newfound freedom.  It had been her choice, and with Naruto’s help she had conquered a small part of her past.  _Just by changing some clothes,_ she thought wonderingly as they neared Iruka’s apartment.  But that wasn’t what had done it; her clothes were only a symbol of her resolve.  Hinata knew where her confidence had stemmed from, and where it continued to build every day.

_Thank you, Naruto-kun._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

The two weeks leading up to the final exam seemed to fly by.  Sasuke returned with Kakashi the day before, and they were both dumbstruck upon seeing Hinata again.  After the initial shock passed they got back to their usual banter; Sasuke and Naruto traded stories about training, though neither of them gave any specifics on what they had learned.  They both knew too well that – in all likelihood – they would be fighting one another in the second round.

Hinata had recovered fully the week prior to the exam and had been able to start training again, though the majority of it was spent regaining the flexibility she had lost during rehabilitation.  She had joined Jiraiya and Naruto when she was able to, helping out as much as she could.  A few hours every day had been spent with Tenten, both honing her weapon skills and just enjoying her friend’s company.

On the day of the exam they all met with Kakashi at Ichiraku’s for breakfast.  Naruto had invited Jiraiya along as well, but the Sage had only given him a confusing answer about a ‘free spa day’.

“My treat,” Kakashi said mildly.  Naruto let cheer and immediately called his order to Teuchi, eliciting a laugh from the old man and his daughter Ayame.  His friends and sensei requested their meals afterwards, and then an unexpected voice spoke up as well.

“I’ll take a bowl of miso ramen,” Jiraiya muttered, settling onto the stool beside Kakashi.  He gave the jounin a lopsided grin.  “You can treat me too, right Kakashi?”

“The younger generation needs to respect its elderly, after all,” Kakashi said placidly.  The older shinobi grumbled about respect and manners but quickly fell quiet as he watched the three genin.  The silver-haired jounin followed his gaze and smirked, shaking his head at his team.  “Remind you of something?” Kakashi asked quietly.  Jiraiya smiled faintly, his eyes lingering for a moment on Sasuke.

“I hope not,” he said somberly, sighing and shaking his head as well.  “But in a lot of ways . . . yes.”

A while later the trio stood to leave, though they cast Kakashi questioning glances before departing.  “I’ll catch up,” he assured them, nodding towards the arena that loomed over the buildings to the northeast.  “Naruto, Sasuke: head to the main floor and onto the stadium grounds.  You’ll be meeting the other genin there with Genma.  Hinata, I’ll meet you in Section B; Lee and Tenten should be there with Gai.”  They all nodded, sharing a grin before heading out.

“He’s a lot like Minato,” Jiraiya said quietly.  Kakashi only nodded, watching as his students made their way down the street.  “And from what I’ve seen the little Hyuuga is incredibly talented; she possesses the chakra control of someone far beyond her age and experience, and she’s way too smart.  With that genius Uchiha in there as well . . . You’re one lucky instructor.”

“I am indeed,” Kakashi agreed.  Jiraiya eyed him for a moment before turning his gaze towards Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke.

“Tsunade and I were lucky to have Sarutobi-sensei, just as those three are lucky to have you.”  The younger man glanced at him wryly, pretending he hadn’t noticed Orochimaru’s omission.

“You’re starting to sound like the Hokage now,” he remarked, though he paused before continuing.  “But thank you, Jiraiya-sama.”  He went back to watching his team then.  Naruto and Hinata were holding hands now, and the blond was talking excitedly to both her and Sasuke.  Kakashi allowed himself a small smile.

_Perhaps we’re lucky to have each other._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks. I hope you’ve all had a good week. Mine has been significantly less than the best, but I found a great deal of solace in writing this chapter, so there’s always that!
> 
> Not much to note about this one, except that YES, I know I did not cover the latter parts of Naruto or Sasuke’s training. It was not an accident, I promise! The only real mention I should make is that with this chapter I am changing the rating to of the fic to ‘M’. I don’t want to spoil anything with that mention, so all I’ll say is that it’s for chapters in the future that I’ve already got planned out.
> 
> Thank you to Rhi for, as always, doing all of the real work and editing for me. Thank you to everybody that read, followed, favorited, and especially if you reviewed. Reviews above all else really encourage me to write; those of you that post one almost every chapter have a special place in my heart. [Insert pixel heart here]
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I’ll see you next time!
> 
> \- Wes
> 
> (Also, sorry about the late post. That's my bad. - Rhi)


	16. Assault on Konoha

"There's only nine," Naruto said, glancing around at the other genin.  "Wasn't that Sound guy - Dosu - supposed to be here?"

"He probably got scared and ran away," Ino stated loudly, letting out a laugh that would have displayed her mocking confidence if her voice hadn’t cracked halfway through.  She coughed, glancing around nervously.  Gaara stood nearby, saying nothing.  Nobody noticed the corner of his lips twitching in the slightest maniacal smirk, but the surge of killing intent was difficult to ignore.

"Either way, he's not here."  Genma stepped before the group, looking bored and clicking the senbon in his mouth against his teeth.  "His fight is scheduled last; Yamanaka Ino will receive a bye in the event he does not arrive on time.  She will face the winner of the fourth round, either Temari or Nara Shikamaru."  Ino paled visibly at that, but Shikamaru only scowled.

"Getting a bye on the first round," he mumbled.  "Tsk, can I trade with her?"  Genma’s only response was a wry smirk at the Nara boy.

"The first match will be Uzumaki Naruto verses Hyuuga Neji.  The feudal lords and other guests are still being seated, so expect to begin in fifteen minutes.  The rest of the contestants are to move up to the viewing area there," he continued, pointing to a section below the regular stands.  It had no seating area, only a tunnel that presumably led up to the stone balcony.

"Good luck," Shikamaru said with a casual wave as he turned.  The comment was offered in such a way that he wasn't directing it at either of them, but Naruto knew who he was talking to.  The blond grinned and nodded his thanks.  Sasuke's hand fell on his shoulder and gripped it hard.

"Kick his ass," he told Naruto bluntly, loud enough that Neji could easily hear.  The older boy said nothing, apparently closed off in meditation.  They nodded at one another, expressions sober, before Sasuke moved off with the rest of the genin.  Only Naruto and Neji remained at the center of the ring now as the din of thousands of voices rose steadily around them.  Genma stood a few meters away, scanning the crowd disinterestedly and waiting on the signal from the Hokage's attendant.

"Neji," Naruto said quietly, waiting until his adversary's eyes flickered open before continuing.  "I might not get a chance to talk to you later, so I'd like to say this now."  Neji's eyes narrowed but he remained silent, waiting.  Naruto took a deep breath and held it for a moment before exhaling slowly.  "I . . . I can't pretend I'm not angry about what you did to Hinata - and what you  _tried_  to do after she was down."  A flicker of agitation played across the older boy's features.  "But I talked to her about it, and I think I understand a little of why you feel the way you do about her."

"What do you know?" Neji asked contemptuously.  "So she told you of the seal placed on branch members?  Of how my father was sacrificed for the head family?  You think that allows you to understand me?"

"No," Naruto admitted carefully, making sure not to raise his voice despite the bubbling fury.  "But I know that you've had a hard life as a branch family member, and I guess I can understand a little of how you feel.  You've been treated differently your whole life, and you had somebody precious taken from you unfairly."  Neji laughed bitterly, and Naruto almost lost the thin patience he had with the other boy.

"You're an outcast; everybody knows that chuunin only took you in because he felt sorry for you.  You've got some talent I'll admit, but compared to a genius like me you're nothing.  You're fated to be an average shinobi for the rest of your life."

"I'll be the Hokage one day," Naruto ground out, just about ready to snap.  He could take insults thrown at him, but not at Iruka.  Neji laughed again, and before he even realized it Naruto was reaching for chakra.

**_Calm down, kid.  He's trying to agitate you._ **

_And it's working_.   _What am I supposed to do, just let him stand there mocking Iruka-sensei?_

**_Yes, that's exactly what you should do.  If he gets a rise out of you, he wins.  Just wait for the match to start, idiot._**   Naruto scowled and took another deep breath, smoothing his features and forcing his rising emotions down.

"Ninjas like the Hokage are born to attain that rank.  I hate to tell you, but you have no natural skill, no kekkei genkai, and no potential.  Even my pathetic cousin has more talent than you.  I should be fighting the Uchiha for a real challenge, not some kid that should have dropped out in the academy."

Genma caught Naruto's wrist when it was a few centimeters from Neji's nose.  The Hyuuga hadn't moved or even flinched, now only smirking triumphantly at his opponent.  Dust swirled about them from the jounin's movement, and though he still seemed placid he spoke with a deadly calm that made Naruto wince slightly.

"Do you want me to disqualify you before the fight begins?" he asked softly, eyes still on the crowd.  A few cheers and shouts were ringing out from the spectators at Naruto's attempted strike.  "A shinobi should keep his emotions in check at all times.  Weren't you taught that in the academy?"  Naruto grimaced and retracted his arm, bowing to Genma.

"I apologize.  It won't happen again."  The proctor eyed him for a moment before nodding and returning to looking around nonchalantly.  Naruto turned back to Neji with a hard expression.  "If you recall, Hinata almost beat you.  If you consider her pathetic for laying you up in the hospital then you have a really skewed view of strength."  Neji blinked, taken aback by what Naruto had – and hadn’t – taken offense to.  "Say what you want about us, but we're strong.  I'll show you just what it takes to become Hokage.  I'll show you how to change your own fate."  Neji opened his mouth to respond, closed it, and repeated the motion as if searching for the right words.

"I have nothing to say to such foolishness," he said finally, looking away.  He looked very tired all of a sudden, and considerably less prideful.  Naruto wasn't sure what Neji was playing at, but he didn't press further.  He had said what needed to be said.  Their match would prove his words true without a doubt.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Hinata winced when she saw Naruto's attempted strike; she could only imagine what Neji had said to provoke him enough to elicit such a response.  She relaxed when he withdrew, relieved that Genma had stepped in and that her friend seemed to have gotten a handle on himself.

"That was close," Kakashi sighed, startling her.  A moment before the seat next to her had been vacant, but now her sensei was occupying it as if he had been there the whole time.  "He nearly got himself disqualified."  Hinata nodded gravely.

"Neji-niisan looks like he's trying to provoke Naruto-kun; I can see it in his eyes."

"You can see that from here?" Tenten asked from her other side, squinting down at the arena floor.  "I can hardly make out their expressions."

"You can tell by the way he's standing," Lee put in from beside Tenten.  "Neji is looking down on Naruto-kun.  It's the same way he looked at me a long time ago."  Hinata chewed on her lip pensively, glancing back down at Naruto and Neji.

"I like the new fashion statement."  Hinata blinked and looked over at Kakashi in surprise, not sure how to react towards the casual remark.  He smirked, though didn't offer any further comments.  Gai slapped him on the back and let out a booming laugh.  After Kakashi recovered from nearly being knocked over he gave his loud friend a humorless smile.

"Kakashi means that he is proud of you taking charge of your youth!  Lee has gone through the same experience, and just look how marvelous he's turned out!" Hinata started to turn a little red as she looked over to Lee, who gave her an exuberant nod and proud thumbs-up.  He was out of his hospital clothes and once again clad in his ostentatious jumpsuit, and Hinata had to return his wide grin with a small uneasy smile.  Gai leaned over from his seat beside Kakashi, peering at Hinata and rubbing thoughtfully at his chin.  "Have you considered adding some green?"

"Her clothes are fine how they are, sensei," Tenten said exasperatedly, though she shared a look with Hinata that got them both giggling lightly.  "They really do look good on you," she continued in a whisper, nudging her friend's side.  "But I already told you that last week."  Hinata smiled and returned the nudge, appreciative of her friend's support.  Tenten winked at her just before Genma's voice rose over the crowd.  "He must be using some kind of jutsu to make his voice carry like that," she muttered, intrigued that they could hear his normal speaking voice so clearly.

"The first match will begin presently; please find your way to your seat."

"Be safe, and do your best Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered so quietly that Tenten nearly missed it.  The older girl smiled and took her hand, giving it a squeeze but saying nothing.  They both knew that Tenten couldn't endorse Naruto over Neji, but that wouldn't stop her from supporting her friend.  Hinata held on tightly, her eyes locked on the arena floor as she tried to wait patiently.  She was nervous not because she was worried that Naruto would lose, but because he might forget his promise.  The fact that he had lashed out at Neji only a moment before made her even more anxious.   _I trust him; he won't let Neji-niisan get to him again._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Genma stood a few meters to one side of Naruto and Neji, positioned between them.  He looked more annoyed than bored now.

"The match will begin in two minutes.  Don't forget that the rules here are the same as in the preliminaries: there are no rules.  The fight will end when one of you dies or gives up.  But if I say that the match is over, it's over; don't argue with me over it and  _do not_  take any further action afterwards.  Understand?" The jounin looked at both of them for confirmation, though his gaze lingered on Neji.  They both nodded, not taking their eyes from one another.  The Hokage's voice rang out from above a moment later, and the buzzing crowd fell silent.

"Honored guests," he started, spreading his arms, "I welcome you to Konohagakure and the Chuunin Selection Exam.  We will now begin the main event with the nine contestants that have passed the preliminary round.  Please enjoy the matches."  The Sandaime afforded the now cheering spectators a small, gracious bow before returning to his seat next to the Kazekage.

"That's our cue," Genma muttered, stepping back another few paces.  "Put on a good show, kids."  He raised his head to address the crowd then, clicking the senbon against his teeth again before speaking.  "The first match will be Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji."  A mixture of applause, shouts, and jeers met their ears at the announcement; Naruto could make a pretty good guess as to which were for whom.  Genma lowered his gaze again and lifted a hand.  Neji eased into his jyuken stance, but Naruto didn't move.  He just stood there, fists at his sides and eyes hard on his opponent.

**_Remember not to let loose completely on this guy,_** the Kyuubi cautioned.   ** _The goal is to hold back as much as possible until the later rounds so that you can-_**

_I'm going all out,_ Naruto responded flatly.   _I don't care if the others find out what I can do.  I want Neji to see just how wrong he is about me and Hinata, and I'll beat everyone else even if they do know what I'm capable of._   As expected the fox growled before letting out an exasperated sigh.

**_Don't even think about trying to surpass your limits._**   Naruto said nothing, and after a moment the Kyuubi's presence receded to the back of his mind.

"Begin!" Genma called, and the crowd roared.

"Let's go," Neji said calmly as his Byakugan activated.  "I'll show  _you_ how helpless you are to the trappings of fate."  Naruto stayed where he was, watching his adversary calmly.  Neji sighed.  "If you're too afraid to move, I'll come to you!" He smiled menacingly before vanishing in a burst of speed.

Naruto was only half concerned with tracking the older boy’s movements, mostly focusing carefully on the subtle task at hand: suppressing his gathering chakra.  Neji became a blur, whirling in behind him faster than he could follow.  Naruto didn't see the palm strike closing in between his shoulder blades, but he didn't care; Neji was within range now.

All at once Naruto released his chakra, along with every bit of fury he had been holding in.  The effect was instantaneous.  Blue energy roared up around him, extending far above his own head in a torrent of flames.  The red cloak of the Kyuubi's chakra stopped Neji's punch cold as it sprang up around Naruto, smoldering angrily against his opponent's bare skin.  The explosion of power not only provided a defense against the blow, but it also sent out a minor shockwave that sent the Hyuuga boy skidding back several meters.

The crowd fell completely silent.  Naruto turned slowly to face Neji again, his eyes burning red with the Kyuubi’s influence.  He let his chakra rage for a few seconds longer, making the fox’s shroud appear purple for the duration.  The azure fire died down again, and Neji didn't miss one of the two tails sinking back into the reddish cloak.  Naruto stood facing him again, surrounded by the vermilion chakra with its single tail swishing back and forth restlessly.  He lowered slowly into a fighting stance, his voice deadly quiet as he spoke.

"Instructor," he began, a small, fierce grin spreading across his features.  "Try to stop the match before he dies."  Whether or not he intended to kill Neji was irrelevant.  When the older boy heard Naruto address Genma so confidently - using Neji's own taunt, no less - he narrowed his eyes and set his stance again.  Naruto was satisfied enough to see that his opponent lacked his usual excessive pride; he wouldn't have had it any other way.  There would be no pleasure in victory if Neji acted with the same hubris as he had in his fight with Hinata.

As they clashed Naruto realized two things.  The first was that Neji was taking this seriously, putting forth his full effort despite his earlier statements.  The second was that Neji’s movements were disparate; they were more fluid, and his style had veered slightly from traditional jyuken.  Naruto wasn't sure if his show of power had jarred the other boy, but something was very different about the way he fought when compared to the previous month.

**_Looks like he's been training,_** the Kyuubi mused as Naruto deflected a strike.   ** _I bet your girlfriend put a crack in his nice little picture of the world._**

_He's gotten faster, I think, and it feels like he's got more chakra._

**_That's enough playing around, then._** Although the fox referred to what they were doing as 'playing around', the onlookers were in awe at the bout of hand-to-hand combat.  At points the two of them became only blurs of color, striking with such force that showers of chakra - both blue and red - burst all around them.But Naruto was only just getting started.

Between one kick and the next Naruto summoned a clone behind himself, using the replacement jutsu a breath later to swap places with it so smoothly that Neji wasn't able to react.  He kept the clone between himself and Neji as he flashed through hand seals, shaping his chakra rapidly.   _Fuuton: Vacuum Sphere._ Naruto took in a breath, exhaling in several sharp bursts and sending columns of air shooting towards his adversary.  The clone didn't let up its assault, dispersing only a fraction of a second before the ability struck.  Neji was already starting to spin, however.

The Revolving Heaven technique was just as impressive as when Naruto had last seen it.  The dome of chakra created by the technique deflected the jutsu, forcing it off to the side and into the wall of the arena.  The stone structure shuddered as the impacts created four sizable craters.  As Neji's rotation slowed Naruto was already charging forward, his right arm back and gathering chakra.  The hum of thousands of muttering voices started back up as an orb formed in his palm, spiraling in a mix of blue and red energy.  When he was only a meter from his opponent he thrust his hand forward, driving the orb directly into Neji's degenerating technique.  A bright flash of indigo shone from the point of contact as Naruto roared over the cacophony of the crowd and colliding chakras.

"Rasengan!"  The light grew until it became blinding, and Naruto had to wince away from it after a moment.  But then he felt the opposing pressure give way slightly, drawing from him a determined growl and a renewed effort to press the Rasengan forward.  For a fraction of a second it felt as if Neji had blocked his advance, but all at once the resistance fell.  Like a knife through soft wood Naruto drove forward, and right into his waiting adversary.

"Hakke: Sixty-Four Palms!" Unable to stop his forward momentum, Naruto grunted as the first two struck home, and it was then that he saw his mistake.  Rather, it was then that he realized Neji's plan.  The older genin had been hidden in his whirl of chakra, but with his Byakugan he was still able to see everything outside.  By speeding up his rotation just as Naruto's jutsu had come in contact with his own, he had been able to momentarily halt its progression to set up his own technique.  The Rasengan had passed within centimeters of Neji's ear, directly over his left shoulder; he had avoided it at the last possible moment.  A fine mist of blood shot up around Naruto's hand as the sphere clipped the other boy's shoulder, dissolving clothing and skin alike as it passed.  "Four strikes!"  Another group of Naruto's tenketsu shut down as he was hit, now stopping his movement and forcing him back a pace.

**_Release it as he strikes next,_** the fox barked, and Naruto had time only to heed his advice and do just that.

"Eight strikes!" Naruto grit his teeth as the first hit his left shoulder, making it go numb.  But then he willingly let go of his focus as the Kyuubi had instructed, and Neji was caught by the violently spiraling chakra let loose from the uncontrolled Rasengan.  The core of energy unraveled and lashed out in every direction, though with significantly less power than a direct hit.  The Hyuuga's technique was cut short and he was thrown back, hitting the ground hard and skidding through the dirt before he could regain his balance.

**_He's not stupid,_**  the Kyuubi commented as Naruto shook his tingling arm.   ** _It seems he not only trained this past month, but he did some spying too.  Unless your girlfriend told him about your new technique._**

_She wouldn't do that; you know that as well as I do._ If he could have spat the words he would have, but he settled for an annoyed tone instead as he reset his stance.

**_Either way: he knows, and he countered it.  What will you do?_ **

_He can deflect any ninja tools I use with that spin, and that ninjutsu Jiraiya taught me was pretty strong.  If that didn't work, I'll have to rely on taijutsu._

**_Probably, but there's a weakness to his technique that you're not considering._ **

_Yeah?_ Naruto asked as Neji sprinted forward to attack.   _Kind of busy here; explain fast._

**_Figure it out._** If he had the time to be frustrated he might have at least cursed at the fox, but instead Naruto was forced to begin trading blows once again, his mind racing.

_It uses a lot of chakra, right?  It has to if he's putting out enough to deflect strong ninjutsu._ Silence.  He continued, grinding his teeth as he narrowly dodged a palm strike.   _And he has to stay still when he does it.  Right?_

**_Mostly.  You had the right idea attacking when he was slowing down, but it's time you started using your_ ** **_– and my_ ** **_– large chakra reserves to your advantage._ **

_He'll tire out before me,_ Naruto realized in the middle of a sweeping hook kick.   _I'll just keep using a lot of ninjutsu and throwing weapons._

**_Have to start somewhere._ **

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he yelled a moment later as he leapt back.  Shuriken flew from every direction as dozens of clones materialized around Neji, but he didn’t miss a beat.  The Hyuuga twisted and spun, keeping track of every weapon as he maneuvered among them.  Naruto’s bunshin let loose a round of kunai following quickly on the heels of the shuriken, and it was the added pressure that forced Neji to use his Revolving Heaven once again.

“Any ninjutsu or spare weapons you can throw!” Naruto ordered.  He was answered by a round of enthusiastic shouts and more shuriken.  A few clones carefully performed various techniques, taking time with the hand seals and chakra balance in order to waste as little as possible.  Jets of water, barrages of wind, and even a few stray fireballs tore through the air to bombard Neji, combining at the center of the arena in a chaotic display of the elements.

**_That might have been a bit overboard, kid,_** the Kyuubi mused, though the lack of an insult was encouraging on its own.  Naruto felt noticeably drained by the effort, but it didn’t stop him from smirking.

_I can feel Neji’s chakra; he’s having to spend more than me to keep that up.  Well . . . Relatively more.  I think._

Clones began dispersing as they reached their limits.  Those that remained were the ones that had only emptied their physical arsenal and neglected to perform any ninja techniques.  Scorch marks covered the ground around Neji’s still spinning form, the area completely scoured down to the foundation.  Torrents of steam rose all around from the mix of jutsu, momentarily obscuring Naruto’s opponent as he finally slowed.

Naruto dropped to the ground and rolled as a fist of shuriken flew from the shroud of fog, springing to his feet in time to swing his forearm out and block a straight palm strike from Neji.  A satisfying crack from his opponent’s wrist elicited a fierce grin from the blond.  Neji held the blow regardless, locking up Naruto’s arm.  He was breathing hard, which brought another note of satisfaction.

“Hakke,” Neji said in a quiet, strained voice.  Naruto tensed and tried to fling his arm away, but the older boy’s hand turned and grabbed his forearm in a vice-like hold despite the fractured bones in his wrist.  The Kyuubi’s chakra roiled around Neji’s grip but he held on, his other palm thrusting forward as he snarled, “Mountain Crusher!”  A dense wave of chakra erupted from Neji’s palm, obscuring Naruto from view in a burst of whiteness for a split second.

The wall of the arena fifty meters away cracked as an orange-red blur collided with it, sending out a cloud of dust and rubble.  Neji sagged forward, catching himself in a stagger.  His hard eyes were locked on where Naruto had hit the wall, and his breath was coming in ragged gasps.  The hand that had been used to hold Naruto was twisted at an odd angle and badly burned, a sacrifice to land the blow.

“In what dream,” he panted, spitting on the ground as he slowly straightened, “Did you expect to defeat me?”  Neji turned towards Genma amidst a stunned silence from the crowd, staring pointedly at the jounin.  “If he’s not dead, he’ll need medical attention immediately.  Nobody could have–”

“Survived that?” Neji spun back towards the wreckage, eyes full of fury.  The smoke from Naruto’s impact was still thick, and all that anybody else could make out was a vague shadow walking slowly towards Neji.

“I saw you fall,” the Hyuuga boy seethed.  “I saw your chakra deplete from trying to absorb the impact.  You . . . You can’t fool my eyes!”

“Maybe try looking again,” Naruto continued calmly, stepping from the dust.  The spectators had started a cheer but choked it back immediately, a few strangled cries coming out instead.  “Go ahead; take a look, Neji.  Tell me what you see.”

Naruto stood defiantly before Neji – before the entire village.  Two red tails twitched back and forth behind him, bubbling with the same chakra that covered the rest of his body.  The features created by the Kyuubi’s cloak were more pronounced than before, and the whisker-like scars on his cheeks were thicker.  Claws wrought of red chakra dug into the ground at his feet and flexed at his fingertips.  The faux fox ears atop his head appeared alive with the chakra’s motion.

Neji looked into him with his Byakugan, and then he saw . . . _it_.  At Naruto’s torso – where the core of his own chakra should have been – was the bright orange flame that had grown to envelope him entirely, sharing its unfathomable energy with the comparatively small container.  As he watched through his Byakugan the fires twisted, forming the bust of a ferocious fox.  It laughed.  It was a deep, cold, mocking laugh that shook his very being.  And then it was gone, as if it had never been.

“From the look on your face,” Naruto smirked, rolling each of his shoulders in turn, “I can tell that you saw.”

“Who . . . What . . .” Neji couldn’t get the words out.

“Neji,” Naruto said in a low, serious tone.  “I’m going to give you the chance to back down now, to save you a lot of pain and pride.  You can’t beat me; you didn’t have a chance from the beginning.”

“Why . . .” he started, looking desperate to understand.  “This isn’t how it’s supposed to happen.  You’re not . . . You’re just–”

“I’m not weak, Neji.  I’m not a monster, either,” Naruto added dryly, knowing that Neji had at least a glimpse at what was inside of him.  “And I can’t let you keep hurting people because of some stupid ideas about fate.  Whether you surrender here or not,” he said firmly, starting forward again, “I’ll show you and everybody else that there’s no such thing as fate.”  Neji’s eyes narrowed and he lowered himself into a jyuken stance, drawing on his chakra reserves.  Naruto shook his head, continuing forward.

“You look down on Hinata because you think she’s weak, but she’s stronger than you’ll ever be.  And it’s because of jerks like you that she’s trained so hard to become strong.  Do you know how much she’s suffered because of the head family?  You two might have more in common than you think.”  He was only a few meters away now, never halting his advance.  “She cares about you, Neji.  No matter what you say or do to her she never says a bad thing about you.  She just keeps fighting against her own fate, the fate of being born as the heiress to the Hyuuga main family.  And here you are, fighting your own battle to try and prove that what she’s doing is wrong.”

“Hakke: One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!” Neji shouted, flying forward in a fit of rage.  He didn’t want to listen anymore.  He didn’t want to hear this pariah try to pick him apart like he was some broken object to be examined and fixed.  He didn’t want his life’s ambitions and beliefs tarnished.  He didn’t want any of it.

Before he could take the first step Naruto’s fist buried itself into his stomach.  The air was ripped from Neji’s lungs as he careened backwards with the force of the blow, spinning through the air before hitting the ground and tumbling several meters further.  His progress was halted abruptly as his back hit Naruto’s foot; the blond had moved so quickly to intercept him that few from the audience had even followed him.  A chakra-coated hand latched onto Neji’s collar, dragging him from the ground and holding him aloft.  The Hyuuga boy still had enough fight in him to struggle, but it was useless.

**_Kid, you’re losing it,_** the Kyuubi cautioned.  **_You can’t control this much chakra yet._** Naruto wasn’t listening, and the fox let out an irritated tsk.

Naruto held out his right hand, gathering chakra there once again.  In moments the empowered Rasengan was making its high-pitched whirring sound, muted slightly by the Kyuubi’s chakra surrounding it.  He pulled his arm back, intending to drive the sphere directly into Neji’s chest.

“The match is over!” Genma called sharply, causing Naruto a moment’s hesitation.  The Rasengan quivered a hair’s breadth from Neji, cutting into the fabric of his shirt.  Memories surged within Naruto’s mind, fighting for attention: Hinata’s apprehension when they first went to train with Team Gai; Neji’s cruel words during the preliminaries.  _He tried to kill Hinata._   Crimson eyes flicked to the jounin examiner, then back to Neji.  He couldn’t stop himself.

“Naruto-kun!”

Hinata’s voice pierced the tense silence of the arena, and Naruto froze.  All eyes turned towards Section B, at the girl leaning over the railing with a shamelessly pleading expression painted across her features.  Naruto’s eyes were only one of many pairs, but his were the ones that softened most.

“Can’t believe I . . .” he mumbled, shaking his head as the cloak of chakra dissipated.  Neji fell to the ground a second later, coughing and choking for air.  Naruto looked oddly distant, and even a little disgusted for a few moments.  But when he turned to look down at Neji his eyes were back to normal again, expression controlled and somewhat sympathetic.

“Don’t give up, Neji,” he said softly, voice tired.  “You’re not as trapped as you think you are.”  Naruto held out his hand to him then, trying to summon a grin.  “I still won’t forgive you for hurting Hinata, but we can start with an apology and work from there.  Deal?”

Neji stared at him in blatant disbelief.  After being beaten, made a fool of, and lectured, this boy expected him to take his hand and forget it all.  Naruto was asking him to leave his pride by the wayside and go against everything he believed in.  He could not.  He _would_ not.  He looked away and said nothing, swatting the offered hand away with his wounded wrist.  Naruto frowned and straightened, shaking his head again and scratching at the back of his neck.

“Winner: Uzumaki Naruto.”

The crowd erupted in cheers, prompting Naruto to blink up towards the stands.  His gaze traveled slowly around the amphitheater, and just as gradually a proud yet sheepish grin spread across his features. 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Hinata fell back to her seat, already biting at her lip.  There were still a few people glancing furtively at her.  Tenten was watching her concernedly as well, but she was too distracted to notice.  Too many thoughts were flitting through her mind.

“He won,” Kakashi said, leaning down so that Hinata would hear him over the din.  “I know you’re anxious, but just look around you for a moment.”  She looked up at her sensei curiously before scanning their surroundings.  A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she realized what he had meant.

“This is the first time that he’s ever been acknowledged by the villagers, isn’t it?” Kakashi nodded, leaning back as he straightened to watch as Naruto gave the spectators a few waves before making his way out of the arena.  Even after nearly losing control of the Kyuubi’s chakra he was beaming, though his cheeks were still aglow with an embarrassed flush.  Iruka had taught him something of humility, at least.

“Everybody seems impressed with him now,” the jounin mused, smirking slightly.  “I guess they’re finally starting to see what we see, hm?”  Hinata nodded, smiling to herself.

“Starting to, but . . .” She blushed and shook her head quickly, turning to strike up a hurried conversation with Tenten.  Kakashi raised an eyebrow before shrugging and turning back to Gai to continue discussing the previous match.  _But they’ll never see what I see._

Naruto arrived in their section just as Genma was making his way back to the center of the ring.  A team of medics had escorted Neji out on a stretcher, and the youth’s eyes had been locked on Naruto his entire way out.

“That was incredible, Naruto-kun!” Lee said exuberantly as the blond approached, leaping from his seat and clenching his fist in a passionate display.  “What was that technique you used that turned you all red?”

“Ano . . .” Naruto started, stopping at the bottom of the stairs.  He looked around, though most of the people around had turned their attention back to the center of the ring.  The next match was the most anticipated, after all.  “It’s just a special kind of chakra I have,” he finished lamely, shrugging and slipping past Gai and Kakashi.  They made room for him without his asking.  He lowered himself next to Hinata on the side opposite Tenten, wincing as he did so.

“You’re hurt,” Hinata said quietly.  Naruto gave her a weak smile and leaned back.  His hand found hers a moment later, relaxing in a comfortable hold as he spoke again.

“Yeah, kind of.  I had to uh . . .” He glanced past her to Tenten and Lee before deciding to censor his words.  “I had to use the red chakra to absorb the impact from that thing he did – the Mountain Crusher, or something.  It was a lot stronger than I thought, and I wasn’t ready for it.  He also got a few hits around my chest; it’s a little hard to breathe.”

“I wouldn’t have expected it before the preliminaries,” Tenten said with a sigh, smirking over at Naruto.  “I didn’t think Neji could be beaten by another genin.  It looks like you proved me and everybody else wrong.”  He flashed an appreciative smile at the older girl before looking back to Hinata.  She hadn’t said anything, but instead was giving him one of her ‘looks.’  Naruto rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t stop a chuckle from escaping as he pulled his right leg onto the bench so that he could face her.

“Alright, go ahead,” he said in a light, teasing tone.  Hinata clicked her tongue at him before putting her hands to his chest, seeking out and starting to heal his injuries.

“Did I miss Sasuke-kun’s match?” They turned to see Haku skidding to a halt at the end of their row, breathing hard and flushed from his hurry.  He was dressed in a formal kimono that sported far more pink than a young man might usually wear.  Neither Naruto nor Hinata seemed to notice, however, only shaking their heads in unison and smiling at him.

“His fight’s just about to start,” Hinata assured him.  “Come sit with us, Haku-chan.”  The older boy flushed and nodded, quickly making his way to squeeze in between Kakashi and Naruto as Genma’s voice called out from below.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“The next round is between Uchiha Sasuke and Gaara of the Sand.”  The crowd redoubled its cheering.  Sasuke vaulted the railing from the competitors’ viewing area, sliding a ways before putting his hands in his pockets and walking casually the rest of the way down.  Gaara watched him, his expression one of maddened glee as he turned towards the stairs.  Temari and Kankuro stood silently nearby, beads of sweat forming on their brows.

Sasuke made it to Genma well before his adversary emerged from the tunnel.  He was still dressed in the black outfit that Kakashi had given him, though a thick leather belt had been added to hold a wakizashi on his left hip.  The longer blade rested on his back, suspended by a sash-like shoulder holster that attached to his belt.  The weapons were sharpened and polished within their black sheaths; one of his first errands back in Konoha had been to obtain a new set.

“Hurry it up, kid,” Genma grumbled at Gaara as he made his way slowly to them.  “Everybody’s been waiting for this match, and you’re not adding any suspense by being lazy.”  The boy was silent and did not pick up his pace.  He simply continued forward, his eyes never leaving Sasuke.  The jounin rolled his eyes, but the pitch of the crowd only proved that they were becoming even more excited.

“Thanks for joining us,” Genma said sarcastically before taking a few steps back.  “Same rules as the preliminaries.  If I say the match is over, it’s over.  Don’t second-guess me.”  He looked between them, noticed that neither boy was paying attention, and sighed.  “Whatever.  Begin!”

Sand began flowing from Gaara’s gourd the moment Genma gave the go-ahead, and Sasuke crouched into a ready stance in response.  However, the Suna-nin twitched and winced as if in pain a moment later, clutching at his right eye and muttering under his breath.  Sasuke couldn’t make out much of it, but what he gathered was that the boy was speaking to his . . . _His mother?_

“Yes, mother.  You’ll get to drink up his delicious blood . . . All of it . . .” Sasuke tensed at the cryptic, disturbing statement.  Gaara shuddered again and flinched, breathing in deeply for a few seconds before turning his now flat gaze to his opponent.  “Come.”

“Gladly.” Sasuke smirked fiercely, activated his Sharingan, let loose a fist of shuriken, and sprinted forward.

Gaara’s sand flowed into a clone, which caught and flung back the projectiles.  A beat later a wave of sand was speeding towards Sasuke, but it wasn’t nearly as fast as he had expected.

_Kakashi made it sound like his sand was faster than this,_ he thought as he leapt over the attack.  _He was right that this guy seems to only be able to use his sand to do anything.  Pretty boring, but I’m not waiting around to figure out what else he can do._   Sasuke turned his landing into a roll to put him right up to the clone, and with a single straight punch he drove a hole straight through its abdomen.  The bunshin twitched once before sand began enveloping Sasuke’s wrist, but he wasn’t about to let that happen; Kakashi had told him all about Lee’s fight.  He struck again with his other hand, freeing both of them and pivoting into a lightning-quick hook that took the clone’s head off, dispersing it to individual grains once again.

“My turn.”  The sand may as well have been moving in slow motion for all the good it did in keeping up with Sasuke.  His movements were similar to Naruto’s when he had taken on the two-tailed shroud – for those that had been there for Lee’s fight with Gaara, his speed now matched the older genin’s.  The crowd’s cheering faltered and sputtered into an awed, quiet rumble.

Gaara hit the ground ten meters away; the armor of sand on one half of his face was cracked and breaking off.  Sasuke stood where Gaara had been, his fist pulling back from the punch that had come too quickly to detect.  The Suna-nin narrowed his eyes and rose, apparently unharmed.

“Looks like I’ll have to try a little harder to actually hurt you,” Sasuke mused aloud, pretending to think for a moment before he disappeared again.

The audience only caught glimpses of the Uchiha in the following minute.  The cheering from the onlookers came in brief bursts whenever Gaara was struck by a seemingly invisible force.  Only the cheers from the chuunin and jounin spectators were consistent, however.  By the time Sasuke was fully visible again shards of hardened sand riddled the ground around Gaara.  His shell had been shattered in most visible areas, and though he was breathing hard he still didn’t seem to have taken any direct damage.  Sasuke’s own breath was coming a bit more labored than usual as well.

“Examiner,” Sasuke breathed, reaching for his weapons.  “Stop the match when you see fit to do so.  I’m not going to let up until he dies.”

“What’s with you kids?” Genma scowled, obviously exasperated at being told nearly the same thing two fights in a row.

This time, although Sasuke was still moving faster than Gaara’s sand could keep up with, more of the crowd was able to track his movements.  Blood sprayed into the air every few seconds as he danced blinding circles around his opponent, striking at the areas where the sand had been weakened.

_He didn’t train at all.  Does he think this sluggish sand is going to be able to protect him forever?_ Sasuke was almost offended by the idea, and after a particularly gruesome slash to Gaara’s shoulder he jumped back to view the damage.  The Sand genin was hunched over in front of him, eyes unfocused but still filled with malice.  Blood dripped or simply flowed from a dozen cuts and gashes along his body, most of which had landed along his limbs with one or two deeper wounds on his chest and side.

“My . . . blood . . .” Gaara snarled, finally breaking eye contact to look down at his injuries.  “Mine . . .” And then he laughed.  It was a harsh, hollow sound that sounded like a mix between a bark and a madman’s cackle.  Sasuke balked and took a subconscious step back, eyeing the other boy warily.  “It’s time.”

Gaara quieted and brought his hands together, holding the maniacal smile as the sand churned and flowed around him into a tight sphere.  Sasuke threw two kunai at the closing center space, but the weapons deflected wildly and sent showers of sparks cascading over the barrier of sand.  The shield was already as hard as the metal blades.

“Great,” Sasuke sighed, deftly sheathing his blades and rolling his shoulders.  “Impenetrable shield.  If only I had a technique that could break through that.” He feigned thought for a moment – if only to further annoy Genma – before appearing to have an epiphany.  “Oh yeah, I do.”  He smirked as he crouched and flew through seals, lowering his left hand and beginning to gather his chakra.  The hum coming from the stands turned into an excited trill as electricity crackled in Sasuke’s palm.  Miniature lightning strikes played across the ground and up his arm until he pulled it back, starting forward at a dead sprint.  The focused chakra began to emit a dissonance of high-pitched chirping sounds that were loud enough for the spectators far above to hear.

Spikes of hardened sand shot from Gaara’s barrier as Sasuke approached, aiming for his vital points.  Sasuke used only the barest movements to avoid the strikes in order to keep his momentum, even allowing one to cut into his cheek.  He grit his teeth and thrust his palm forward, shouting above the screeching energy and roar of the crowd.

“Chidori!” As in Kakashi’s demonstration the ability cut smoothly into the sand, melting it around the point of impact.  The hardened grains flowed together and became brittle under to the intense heat, and several centimeters surrounding Sasuke’s forearm turned to glass between one instant and the next.  The small circle of glass shattered as the Uchiha’s attack made contact on the other side, and then everything became very quiet.

Sasuke tensed as he sensed something amiss, and he immediately tried to pull his arm back.  Something fastened onto his wrist, threatening to crush it in a vice-like grip.  He ground out a curse and reactivated the Chidori, setting his feet against the outside of the shell and pushing back with all of his strength.  After a strained moment he felt the hold loosen and shy away from the lightning.  Sasuke dove backwards, twisting mid-flight to land sliding several meters away.

“What the . . .” he started under his breath.  Dark shapes writhed beyond the small hole he had created, indistinct but disconcerting nonetheless.  It wasn’t until he saw the amber glow that realization began to dawn, and by then it was too late.  A large yellow eye flashed in front of the opening, and then Gaara began screaming.  The sound was one of agony, terror, madness, and rage.  Sasuke could only get one panicked word out before he leapt away from the cracking shell.

“Shukaku!”

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“Kai!” Almost the entire row holding Teams Gai and Kakashi spoke in unison, dispelling the genjutsu that had begun moments before.  They were already on their feet, and before Kakashi could get a word out Naruto had reached the railing.

“Naruto,” he said sharply, halting the youth in his tracks.  “Take stock of your surroundings before you act.”  The boy, glanced around hurriedly, then let out a curse.  All of the civilians were asleep, and the shinobi that had managed to shake the illusory technique had already engaged in combat with ninjas wearing Sound hitai-ate.

“Sensei, you heard Sasuke,” Naruto said with a quick glance back to the arena floor.  “If it is then–”

“Then we’ll deal with it when we must, but for now protecting the citizens of Konoha is the priority.  Do as I say; this is not a game.  Konoha is under attack.”  He hesitated for only a moment before nodding tightly and drawing a kunai.  Gai had already ordered his team to the western part of their section, and the three of them were battling half a dozen Oto-nin attempting to enter from the stairs.  “You three take the other side; I’ll handle the center aisle.”  Hinata reached behind her belt and withdrew her modified trench-knives, her expression grave and anxious.  Haku had senbon between each of his fingers, and with a worried look down at Sasuke he charged east to assist the Leaf forces.  Naruto and Hinata followed without hesitation, prepared to heed Kakashi’s final barked order.  “This is the real thing.  Strike to kill.”

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Temari and Kankuro landed together in front of Gaara’s hardened shell, facing Sasuke.  They both had their weapons drawn – in the older boy’s case, his puppet was already out and ready.  A second later their jounin instructor appeared in front of them, looking irate but serious nonetheless.

“Damn that Gaara,” he spat, glancing at the barrier.  “He could ruin the plan by losing control like this.”

“I’ll take Baki,” Genma said as he stepped up beside Sasuke, eyes narrowing at the other man.  “You take the two kids.”  He raised his voice to the three Sand shinobi, drawing out several kunai.  “So you’ve been planning to attack from the beginning, using the Chuunin Exam as a front to get your people inside.  I hate to tell you, but it won’t be that easy.”  Baki only grinned mirthlessly at Genma, and a moment later they realized why.

The ground shook and a few chunks of stone fell from the high walls around them.  Thunderous crashes reached their ears from far off, followed by a monstrous hissing noise.  Sasuke wasn’t allowed a moment to wonder about what was happening.  He and Genma were forced to dodge aside as a torrent of wind rushed towards them.  Genma disappeared at the same time as Baki, and a short time after the sounds of a skirmish could be heard a ways off to one side.  All Sasuke was focused on were the two enemy genin in front of him, however.

“I’m not really excited to fight this guy after seeing what he did to Gaara,” Kankuro sighed, flexing his fingers.  “But orders are orders.”

“We shouldn’t be here in the first place,” Temari growled, glancing worriedly back to where Gaara still remained entombed by his own sand.  “We could die.”

“Yeah, you could,” Sasuke responded evenly, drawing his blades once again.  “I’ll . . .” He trailed off, staring past the two of them.  Both Suna-nin froze, their eyes widening in fear.  The shell of sand had burst open on one side and a long, tan _something_ came slithering out to claw at the ground as if testing something.

“Kankuro!” Temari shouted, panicked.  Her brother needed no further encouragement.  She flipped her fan horizontally and leapt on it, Kankuro right behind her.  Sasuke was left blinking at them as they sped away through the air.  His eyes were drawn back to Gaara a moment later – at least, what had been Gaara a few minutes earlier.

Debris scattered in every direction as the ground buckled under a colossal weight, and Sasuke was forced to cover his eyes as he staggered back.  When he lowered his arm to see what had happened, all that could be seen was roiling dust.  But slowly a shadowy shape became visible within the shroud, towering higher than the walls of the arena.  It was truly massive; on its own it took up half of the grounds, and that was only because it had torn down the entire northern wall of the amphitheater with its coming.  When the haze finally settled Sasuke was looking up at least a hundred stories, right into the mad golden eyes of the Ichibi.

“You’re the one,” the beast yelled.  It let out a crazed, high-pitched cackle, its giant tail crushing several more buildings behind the already destroyed wall.  “You did it!  You made him lose too much blood!  I’m out, I’m out!”  The piercing laughter created a wave of force on its own, pushing Sasuke back several meters.

_This . . . This is a tailed beast?!_   Its chakra was incomprehensible.  Its mere voice could shake the earth, and a casual flick of its tail could level acres.  _Nobody could fight this thing.  I have to get out of_ _–_

“Fuuton: Drilling Air Bullet!” A mass of air the size of a building burst from Shukaku’s mouth towards Sasuke.  “You’re the one!  I want to kill you!”  Sasuke growled and vanished, but a moment later he was sent tumbling to the side as the chakra bomb hit the ground.  Even from twenty meters away the force of the impact had been enough to knock him from his feet and send him rolling off to the side.  “You can’t get away!  You can’t get away!  I want to taste your blood!”

Sasuke kicked back to his feet and flipped sideways, narrowly avoiding a round of senbon and a small tornado.  The needles got caught up in the whirlwind, creating an even deadlier spiral that passed far too close to him.  Temari and Kankuro landed nearby, placing Sasuke between them and Shukaku.  Both looked frightened and strained.

“You’re not getting away, Uchiha Sasuke,” Temari called in a shaky voice, raising her fan as the Ichibi reeled back for another ranged attack.  Another chakra-laced mass of air shot towards Sasuke in the same instant that Temari let loose a powerful, broad wave of wind.  Kankuro’s puppet sent a barrage of poison-tipped needles from above, further narrowing Sasuke’s options of escape.

Time slowed down as he took everything in.  A cold sweat broke over his brow as his mind raced.  _Her wall will knock me back into the other two attacks.  I’ll die if I get hit by Shukaku’s.  Only option is up._   He turned his Sharingan skyward, and in the fraction of a second that it took him to gather chakra and jump he had calculated his trajectory.  There were at least a hundred senbon, but they were spread wide enough that he had been able to find a path through.  Sasuke twisted as he flew upwards, trying to remain calm and focused on his movements.  He raised one knee, bent his arm slightly, and moved the other a few centimeters out while keeping it locked straight.  A tense moment later he broke through unharmed; several of the projectiles had passed so close to him that he could feel the poison burning on his skin.

Sasuke spun to get momentum for his kick, driving his foot into the puppet responsible for the deadly shower.  Its carapace shattered with the blow, and it hit an undamaged portion of the wall a second later only to crumple to the ground.

_Katon: Great Fireball! Katon: Phoenix Sage Fire!_ A comet of fire rushed towards the Suna-nin, forcing them to dodge to each side.  The first technique, however, was a distraction from the second.  Several small fireballs broke off from the larger one while Kankuro and Temari were still in mid-air, tearing towards them.  Temari used her fan to guard, and Kankuro crossed his arms to help absorb the attack.  Both were carried off course regardless, sending them much further away than they had intended to dodge.

_Damnit Naruto, Hinata; where are you?_ Sasuke landed on the wall, already letting loose a volley of shuriken.  _Raiton: Lightning Shuriken!_   Electricity coursed down the hidden wires and into the spinning blades an instant before Temari attempted to deflect them.  The charged weapons ripped through her fan as they lit up with Sasuke’s channeled chakra, and a breath later he guided them around to wrap the wires tightly about the kunoichi’s body.  She let out a strangled cry before falling to the ground, twitching as the remaining power faded.

“Temari!” Kankuro shouted, sprinting towards her.  Sasuke fell to one knee, wincing and breathing hard.  Even if he had wanted to attack, he had used up too much chakra in his fight with Gaara and his subsequent assault on the others.  Unfortunately he did not have the time to recover.  A laugh from Shukaku signaled yet another attack on the way, and the only thing Sasuke could do to avoid it was release the chakra holding his feet to the wall.  He dropped fast, and a second later the section of the wall he had been standing on exploded in a shower of rubble.  Sasuke hit the ground hard, gasping in a sharp breath and rolling to a crouch.

“Fuuton: Drilling Air Bullet!” the Ichibi yelled maniacally again, and before it even left the monster’s mouth Sasuke knew he wouldn’t be able to dodge in time.

“Hakke: Vacuum Palm!”

“Suiton: Water Blast!”

Sasuke blinked up at the backs of his two friends, standing side by side and blocking his vision of the oncoming technique.  With his Sharingan still active, however, he could see the amount of raw power they both put into their jutsu.  An enormous column of water shot towards Shukaku’s air bullet, surrounded and accelerated by a tremendous force of air.  The combination of abilities met the tailed beast’s attack, and the resulting blowout shook the ground on which they stood.  When the misty aftermath cleared, Hinata and Naruto still stood in front of him, their features grim and their eyes hard on Shukaku.

“You’re late,” Sasuke panted, pushing himself to his feet.

“We had to help the villagers,” Naruto responded with a tight grin.  “I figured you could handle yourself for a bit.  Hinata,” he continued quietly, tilting his head back to Sasuke.  She nodded and moved back to do some quick mending.

“I’m not very injured.  Just low on chakra.” Hinata nodded again and pulled a soldier pill from her side pouch, handing it to Sasuke as she began to work quickly on his minor injuries.  Naruto took a step towards Shukaku, clenching his fists and meeting the giant raccoon-dog’s gaze without fear.

**_This is way out of your league, kid,_ ** the Kyuubi said gruffly, and the urgency in his voice gave Naruto a moment’s pause.  **_I’m serious this time.  Even if you could control nine tails worth of my chakra, there’s no way you’d be able to match a fully transformed bijuu._**

_Kakashi ordered us here to help Sasuke, and that’s what I’m going to do.  The Hokage is the only one that could stand a chance against Shukaku, but he’s busy fighting his own battle._   Naruto took a deep breath, summoning all of his and the Kyuubi’s chakra that he could muster.  _I can at least keep it distracted until Sasuke’s recovered.  Do what you can to help me._

**_Whatever you say.  You’re a fool, mortal._ **

“Oy, Ichibi,” Naruto called.  “Why don’t you pick on somebody else?!”  Shukaku’s gaze fell from Sasuke and Hinata, its eyes narrowing on the blond just below.

“Oooooh, the jinchuuriki?  Is that you in there, Kyuubi?  Why don’t you come out and play?  I’ll show you that one is better than nine!”  Naruto didn’t have time to puzzle over the Ichibi’s words, forced to dodge to the side as a massive claw tore down at him.  “C’mon c’mon c’mon!  Fight me, Kyuubi!”  Another blast was aimed directly at where Naruto was landing.

_You’re right; he is crazy._ Naruto thrust his palm towards the immense chakra ball, his Rasengan whirring to life in the same instant.  If not for the Kyuubi’s chakra Naruto would have been crushed, but his own together with the one-tailed cloak allowed him to withstand it – if barely.  _Little more,_ he grunted to the fox.  The second tail snaked out behind him, and then both shot forward over his shoulders and slammed into the air bullet.  The added strength deflected the technique back and into the Ichibi’s stomach, forcing it to take a stumbling step back.

“Interesting!  Very interesting, mortal!  But I don’t want to play with you; I want the Fox!”  Shukaku began lashing his tail, tearing down more of the arena wall as he moved forward and began swiping at Naruto.  Not only was the beast faster than its mass should have allowed, but with every strike smaller tendrils shot out from its arm towards where Naruto dodged.  Its entire body seemed to be able to flow and shift.

_He’s made of sand, isn’t he?_ Naruto asked as he slashed through a few extra reaching limbs.

**_More or less._** The Kyuubi was oddly subdued, speaking in a tone of resignation.

“Naruto-kun!” Hinata called.  “I’m finished; get back!”  He heard her gasp after that, and the clang of metal striking metal.  His eyes flicked towards his teammates for only an instant, in which he saw Kankuro engaging Hinata while a recovered Temari battled Sasuke.  In the instant he looked away a sweeping limb struck him across the back, sending him crashing into the ground.

_Ow._   He rolled quickly to the side as a gigantic paw descended on him, smashing into the ground and creating a meter-deep impression.

**_Kid, your girlfriend said to get back.  That’d be the smart thing to do about now._ **

_I know, I’m trying,_ Naruto muttered, leaping away as another bullet of compressed air whistled by.  He looked worriedly back towards his friends again.

“Ah, Kyuubi.  Too distracted to come out to play?  Let’s fix that!”

The world slowed for Naruto as he realized what Shukaku was doing.  Three large spikes shot from the monster’s chest towards Hinata’s back while another set sped after Sasuke.  The Uchiha flipped backwards to avoid the attack, and then his eyes widened and he spun towards Hinata.  She had been jumping forward to attack Kankuro when the spikes were released, and though she could see them with her Byakugan she wouldn’t be able to move fast enough to dodge.  Her adversary dove to the side as her foot touched back to the ground, but it was too late.  _I can’t._

That instant felt like an eternity, but the aftermath seemed to try to make up for the lost time.  Hinata hit the ground hard on her shoulder, bouncing once before colliding with one of the sparse trees lining the arena.  She felt one of her ribs break at the impact, and she fell to the ground a moment later to gasp for air.  It was then that she noticed how quiet things seemed to have gotten.  The fighting in the stands above had died down, and the skirmishes around her had ceased.  She was still trying to figure out what had knocked her aside with such force when she finally looked up.

Where she had been standing there was nothing, which confused her even further.  Her gaze traveled further to Sasuke, whose eyes were impossibly wide as he stared at the mangled wall of the stadium.  Hinata followed his gaze to where the three spikes had been driven half of their length into the solid stone.  Pinned between them was a blond boy, his black coat fluttering in the light breeze as the red-orange chakra faded from his limp form.

“Naruto . . .” Hinata’s sluggish mind went blank.  She stood slowly, her eyes growing wider by the second as she took several slow steps towards him.  One of the spikes had missed him, striking the wall a hair’s breadth from his head.  Another had his arm held to the wall, or what was left of it to hold.  The barb had struck his left bicep and nearly torn his arm clean off; blood flowed freely from the wound, and his forearm hung uselessly over the spike by a few shreds of mangled flesh.  The last shaft had run through his torso, and where his right side should have been there was only bloody, hardened sand.  The Kyuubi’s chakra had dissipated rapidly, and now Naruto only stared out at nothing with vacant, dimming blue eyes.

“No . . .” Nobody stopped Hinata as she approached, trembling uncontrollably.  “No . . .” She reached out, desperately feeling his neck for a pulse.  Nothing.  She couldn’t take her eyes from his, and she couldn’t even hear Shukaku’s maddened laughter behind her.  All she could see were the eyes of the boy she loved, and the small, relieved smile that graced his lips even after he was . . . _Gone._

Hinata didn’t hear Sasuke shouting.  She didn’t hear when Temari and Kankuro retreated or when Kakashi and Haku arrived on the scene.  She didn’t hear because she couldn’t hear.  All she could hear were Naruto’s last words to her, just before they had arrived to assist Sasuke.

_“Be safe.”_

_He’s dead,_ she thought hollowly, touching his cooling cheek.  Tears were flowing unchecked down her face, but her expression remained empty and disbelieving.  She had always thought of Naruto as invincible, somehow; he had always been so confident, so determined no matter the odds.  They had been through so much together.  They had trained together for years, been on dangerous missions together.  They had fought side by side so many times.  And now . . . _Naruto-kun is dead._   The warm, ever-burning fire within her wavered and began to dwindle.  It flickered for an instant, then was snuffed out completely.  Hinata clutched her head, beginning to hyperventilate.

“N-no . . .” she stuttered, backing away and unable to move her eyes from Naruto.  “No . . . He can’t be dead . . .” Her voice rose with every word as she stumbled sideways, finally tearing her gaze from him and turning towards the sky.  And then something happened that no person had ever witnessed, and none would ever wish to experience again.  Hinata _screamed._

Something snapped within the young Hyuuga, and without regard for herself she spun towards Shukaku.  The beast was still filled with mirth at his accomplishment and appeared to be dancing about in glee.

_“You!”_ Hinata howled, starting towards the Ichibi.  _“You took him from me!  I never told him – I never told him that I loved him!”_   Every choked syllable was a tragic note played upon broken heartstrings.  Tenten’s words echoed over and over in her head, mocking her.  _One of you could be gone tomorrow, and you’ll have never shared your feelings for one another._

Nearby, Sasuke had snapped out of his daze, fighting back tears of his own as Kakashi yelled at them both to fall back.  But Hinata was already running at her friend’s murderer, hands becoming a blur in the multitude of hand seals she had begun.

“Fuuton: Gale Palm!  Suiton: Slicing Waves!  Hakke: Ethereal Senbon Barrage!”  Chakra was pouring from the girl as jutsu tore through the air towards Shukaku.  Huge scythes of water sliced into the Ichibi’s torso as blasts of air battered his eyes and face.  Hinata’s arms became untraceable in movements similar to her protection technique, but now fine needles of chakra cascaded from her, battering every visible part of the beast’s body.  Hundreds of senbon later Hinata was still running at Shukaku, heedless to the fact that her attacks had amounted to little more than an annoyance.

She hadn’t even seen Hiashi flash in front of her, only realizing his presence when she was thrown over his shoulder and being carried away.  The Hyuuga clan leader deftly maneuvered around the bijuu, sprinting towards an exit before his daughter could end her life in her recklessness.

“No!  Let me go; it killed him!  It killed him!”  A breath later she felt a sharp blow to the back of her head, and her vision began to blur.  Her hand stretched back towards Naruto as she was taken further from him.  As merciful darkness took her she prayed to fate, destiny, and everything in between that this could be a nightmare.

_Naruto . . . kun._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks.
> 
> I actually have no notes for this chapter; they’ll all come in the next one, so please stay tuned and don’t unleash ultra-angry typing at me yet. However, I should mention that my updates will have to slow now; I’m actually working on a book that I’m trying to get done by January, so I’ll need to dedicate 5-7k words per week to getting it done. x_x; I promise I’ll keep writing CFKD though! I enjoy it too much to stop.
> 
> Thank you for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following as always. I was blown away by the response to last chapter, and it helped me get this one done much faster than I normally might have. You all encourage me more than you might think, and I appreciate it greatly.
> 
> As always, a big thank you to Rhi for editing this chapter for me. It was a difficult one for both of us to work through.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> \- Wes
> 
> P.S. I’m looking for a talented artist that I could commission a little piece from for this fic. I’m considering two ideas, one of which would require a major spoiler (years later spoiler), but the one I’d really like right now would be a fun picture of the trio in their updated outfits. If you (or somebody you know) might be interested, I’d love to get in touch via PM!


	17. Trust

The familiar sound of droplets falling steadily into a stagnant pool was oddly comforting.  The water felt cool and welcoming this time, and the surrounding dimness was a blessing of its own.  But it couldn’t last, Naruto knew.  His heavy eyelids eased open to view the darkness far above, and after a moment he sat up slowly.

“Sorry,” he sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck.  His voice echoed around the chamber, and it was met with a growl from beyond the gate.

**_“An apology isn’t going to fix this, mortal,”_** the Kyuubi rumbled, resting its head on its massive forepaws.  **_“We’re both about to die.”_**

“Yeah . . . I know.  But I am sorry that I had to take you with me; it’s not really fair.” Large crimson eyes blinked at him, and after a few seconds the fox tilted its head to the side curiously.

**_“What does it matter to you?  The Bijuu have become mere weapons of war, made so by shinobi like you.  I have been manipulated and sealed by more humans than I care to remember, all in the name of greed.”_ **

“Would you knock that off already?” Naruto sighed, pushing himself up and looking around before wading to the gate.  “I’ve been telling you for months that I just want to work with you.  Can’t you at least act like my friend instead of my ‘tool’ or whatever?”

**_“Friend?”_** the Kyuubi mused, swishing its many tails around and chuckling mirthlessly.  **_“My presence within you has made your life miserable.  I’m a tailed beast, kid; what makes you think you can befriend the greatest power of this world?”_**   Naruto sighed again, sinking back to sit in the shallow water and pulling his knees to his chest.  He didn’t say anything in response, only staring into the prison past the fox.  The Kyuubi made a frustrated noise, rolling its eyes before continuing.  **_“What?”_**

“I . . . I don’t want to die, I guess.” Naruto paused and let out a weak laugh, shivering slightly.  “I mean, if I had to make the decision again I would have done the same thing.  I’m glad Hinata-chan is safe, but . . .”

**_“You heard her, didn’t you?”_** The fox’s voice was quiet, though it still nearly shook the bars in front of Naruto.  The boy nodded slowly, fidgeting with his sleeves and still looking at nothing.  He heard the Kyuubi sigh, but didn’t see its eyes close solemnly.  **_“You’ve got a lot to learn – not that there’s any time for that now.”_**

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked, lifting his gaze.  The Kyuubi shifted its weight, uncrossing its paws and settling its head down between them, its face as close to the ground and Naruto as it could be with the barrier in between them.  It was an unnerving sight, seeing the fox looming like that, but it also seemed odd for the beast.

**_“Kid, why did you save Hinata?”_**   Naruto blinked at him a few more times, briefly distracted at hearing the Kyuubi use her name.

“Because she would have been killed if I hadn’t,” he responded assuredly.  “I couldn’t have let her die if there was something I could do about it.”  The Kyuubi shook its head, and the floor trembled with the motion.

**_“That’s not what I meant, fool.  You saved her because you possess the same feelings.”_**   Naruto didn’t blush as expected; instead he looked down, nodding after a moment of silence.  **_“But you didn’t even think about her, did you?  You acted selfishly.”_**

“What?” Naruto blurted out, looking up at him incredulously.  “I protected her; how is that selfish?”

**_“Use your damn brain,”_** the Kyuubi growled, baring its teeth.  **_“You’re about to be dead.  Do you understand what that means?  You’ll be gone – forever – and guess what?”_** He paused for emphasis, allowing the boy time to visibly pale.  **_“She’s still alive, and will have to live with the knowledge that you died protecting her – for the rest of her days.”_   **Naruto became very still after that, staring up into one of the Kyuubi’s massive eyes.

“But . . .” Tears began to burn at the corners of his eyes as he tried to fight off the fox’s explanation. “But I couldn’t . . .” he choked, squeezing his knees to his chest.  If Naruto hadn’t known any better, he would have sworn that the Kyuubi’s eyes softened, even if only a little.

**_“Kid . . . Sometimes being the one who lives is being the one who loses the most.  Just because you possess the strength to act, it doesn’t mean that you always should.”_** The words struck Naruto like a physical blow, and had he been standing he might have stumbled back.  There was only silence after that, and it wasn’t until several minutes later that Naruto realized that it was getting darker.

“I . . .” he began, wiping tears from his eyes.  “I don’t want to die.”  The Kyuubi raised an eyebrow; his eyes seemed brighter in the increasing gloom.

**_“Nobody wants to die, but you made this decision yourself.”_ **

“But I’m not dead yet,” Naruto said fervently, glaring up at the fox.  “As long as I’m alive – even just in here – I want to fight to keep it that way.  I don’t . . . I don’t want to leave Hinata and Sasuke like that.  Isn’t there something – _anything_ that we can do?”  It was the Kyuubi’s turn to blink, and the room flickered completely dark for a moment.  The boy’s expression was anguished and pleading, but it was mixed with his usual determination and fiery passion.  It seemed the fox’s words had banished his previous resignation.

**_“Not going to give up, hm?”_** Naruto shook his head, and the Kyuubi couldn’t help but let out a wry chuckle.  **_“That sounds more like you, Uzumaki Naruto.”_**   He was answered by a fierce grin from the blond, something he returned in kind.  The Kyuubi’s ‘smile’ looked more like a snarl, but Naruto was in tune enough with the bijuu that he understood the intent.  **_“I can try one thing, but it’s got a slim chance of working.  Even if you manage to live, there will be repercussions.”_**

“If I’ve only got one option, do they really matter?”  The Kyuubi lifted its head and shrugged, flexing its claws in thought.

**_“I suppose not, but you ought to be aware of them.”_** The giant fox stood then, slowly arching and stretching back, dragging its claws across the stone floor with the action.  He acted as if he had all the time in the world, and Naruto was starting to get apprehensive about how long they really had left.  **_“For one, you need to trust me.  And I don’t mean casual trust that you might afford an acquaintance; you need to put your full faith forward, because otherwise I won’t be able to get out.”_**

“Out?” Naruto blurted out before he could stop himself.  Shukaku’s maddened cheers came back to him then, and he swallowed nervously. _‘I’m out, I’m out!’_ “You want me to let you out?  Can you even do that?”

**_“Theoretically, yes.  Shukaku’s seal is different than this one, but if I flood your body with enough of my chakra and you allow me to take over, it could work.  But,”_** the Kyuubi continued, straightening and looking down at Naruto again, **_“There will be irreversible effects from forcing so much of my chakra into you, if you even survive it.  I’ll have to regenerate some of your organs, your left arm, and most of the right side of your body.  Mending small injuries is barely noticeable in the grand scheme of things, but replicating that many cells in such a small period of time will have a measurable consequence.  You_ will _lose years of your life by doing this, and there will be scars that I cannot remove.  I’ve never done something like this, nor have I heard of it being done, so that is as far as I can assure you.”_**   Naruto stared up at the fox for a time, his grave features almost entirely hidden in the gathering darkness.

“Alright, I’ll trust you,” he said finally, then let out a sudden bark of laughter, eliciting another quirked eyebrow from the Kyuubi.  “You know, you’ve been trapped inside of me for twelve years and I never asked your name; I’ve just been calling you ‘Kyuubi’ or ‘the Fox’ all this time.  The Ichibi’s name is Shukaku, right?  What’s yours?”  Naruto couldn’t see the corner of the fox’s lips tug into a small smirk, but he heard the deep, rumbling chuckle a moment later.

**_“Mortals don’t ask after our names, and neither do we give them lightly.  Consider it a privilege that I will share it with you, even if it is moments from your likely death.”_**   Naruto rolled his eyes as he stepped forward to the center of the gate, waiting in the short time he had left.  **_“My name is Kurama, the Kyuubi no Kitsune.  You humans have had many names for me – Bakegitsune, Kyuubi no Youko.  Now that you know my true name, should you survive I expect proper respect from you, mortal.”_** Naruto smirked, offering a bow that was only half serious.

“It was an _honor_ working with you, Kurama- _sama_.” The Kyuubi growled at his obvious insolence, but Naruto continued as he straightened, softening the sarcasm a bit.  “Really though . . . Thank you, Kurama.  And _when_ we live through this, can you quit calling me ‘kid’ and ‘mortal’ too?  You’ve at least known my name this whole time.”  Kurama snorted before easing up on his hind legs, reaching forward and placing his claws between the gates just behind the seal.  The bars groaned as the enormous force began to push them apart, and a few growls escaped the fox before the barest slit cracked open between them.

**_“As you wish,_ kid. _”_** Naruto placed his hands on the outside of the gigantic doors, trying to push them apart with all of his might.  He barely even heard Kurama, too focused on providing what little aid he could.

Red-orange chakra rose up out of the ground, bringing light to the chamber once again.  Energy was flowing off of the Kyuubi’s colossal form, pouring into the water and leaking from between the bars in the gate.  It swirled and coalesced around Naruto, and for a while he wondered why they were trying to pry the gate open in the first place.  But then Kurama snarled, taking an earth-shattering step forward and heaving at the gate with all of his might.  The Kyuubi’s muscles appeared to tear as the barrier gave way another fraction of a centimeter, but it was enough.

The last thing Naruto saw was the bright light of a proverbial tidal wave of chakra before he was falling through cold darkness.  Kurama’s voice followed him down, the faintest words echoing in the back of his mind.

**_“See you on the other side, Naruto.”_ **

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

An explosion shook the walls of the infirmary, rousing Hinata from her unconscious state.  The back of her head throbbed and she felt dizzy as she opened her eyes.  Waking up in a sterilized environment for the second time in a month proved unnerving, but that concern wasn’t foremost in her mind.  The girl’s brow knitted as she tried to remember the dream she had been having – rather, the horrible nightmare.  Another detonation nearby snapped her out of her reverie, and cruel reality came crashing back.

“Naruto . . .” she breathed, fresh tears already forming in her eyes.  “Why . . .?”

“Because he cared for you.” Hinata sat up at the sound of Neji’s voice, trying to force the swelling tide of emotions back.  The village was under attack, and she had already acted selfishly once.  Unfortunately logic was much more difficult to employ than she would have hoped.  It felt like her very soul ached.

She ignored her cousin, swinging her legs off the side of the bed.  Her expression was blank – vacant, but grimly set to do her duty as a Leaf ninja.  Not to mention . . . _They killed him._

“Hiashi-sama instructed me not to let you leave here,” Neji stated quietly, setting himself in front of the only door as Hinata approached to leave.  His right arm was heavily bandaged and held up by a sling, and most of his torso was wrapped as well.  “He would not have harm come to–”

“Neji-niisan,” Hinata interrupted in a calm, distant voice.  “I was disowned, and I am no longer the Hyuuga heiress.  My fate is my own to decide, and I will help our village however I may.  Stand aside, or I will make you.”  In that moment, as her eyes met Neji’s, he had no doubt that she could have followed through with her threat – even if he had been uninjured.  He stared at her for a moment before bowing and stepping aside, keeping his head lowered long after she had gone.

The infirmary had been set up as an attached building on the outer wall of the arena, likely as a temporary facility for the exam.  Hinata leapt onto the stone exterior of the amphitheater, sprinting up the side and activating her Byakugan as she reached the top.  She willed herself not to look towards where she knew Naruto’s body was, focusing instead on the three familiar forms fighting below.  Shukaku had moved from the area; she could see him dancing in glee as he wrought havoc further into the city.  She set her jaw and jumped, sliding down the length of the wall before rushing to rejoin her broken team.

Sasuke spotted Hinata first after tearing viciously through an enemy shinobi’s throat with his wakizashi.  Even from that distance he could see her empty eyes, and the sight caused him to choke out a curse.  He’d been allowed only a second to register Naruto’s death before they were attacked again, forcing his attention elsewhere.  Haku and Kakashi seemed entirely unaffected, but he knew all too well how adept the older shinobi were at hiding their emotions.

“Hinata, behind–” Kakashi barked, but he stopped as the pair of Oto-nin approaching behind Hinata fell.  She hadn’t broken her stride, and her features remained unchanged even as two kunai left her hand – thrown _backwards._   A breath later they were buried to the hilt in one of each of the oncoming ninjas’ eyes.  “–you.” Kakashi had only a few seconds to watch Hinata before he was engaged in combat once again, but in that short time he had observed his student becoming something he had never wanted to see.  _Damn it . . . Damn it!_

“Katon: Flame Contagion!” Sasuke snarled, facing down a group of approaching shinobi.  A blast of fire shot from his palm and crashed into the leading ninja.  The man screamed and fell writhing to the ground, and though his allies ignored their fallen comrade the hungry flames wouldn’t allow them to pass.  Sparks erupted from the burning corpse, striking those nearby and spreading further.  Before the rest had even realized what was happening the jutsu had consumed them all.  The last of the anguished cries faded as Sasuke released the technique, and after the orange glow had diminished all that remained were twelve unrecognizable, ashen forms.

“Hakke: Ethereal Senbon!” Hinata was battling her own share of adversaries on Kakashi’s other side, but they were falling one by one as needles of chakra struck their vital points with unerring precision.  A dozen Sound ninjas fell to her ability before another voice was heard, just behind Kakashi.

“Hijutsu: Ice Graveyard!” The last group – a squadron of Sand shinobi – was cautiously approaching after witnessing the others perish.  As they came near the ground underfoot turned from hard dirt to ice, and those that didn’t fall slid across the slick surface.  In seconds the ice latched onto its victims, rooting them as the jutsu crept up their limbs.  They panicked and tried to flee, but it was futile.  After a short time all that remained were frozen statues, which shattered a moment later following a hand seal from Haku.

The war-torn arena floor quieted after Kakashi dispatched the few remaining enemies.  He landed lightly back in position, his back facing the other three in a manji formation.  His eyes traveled warily around before he straightened, tugging his forehead protector back down over his left eye.  “Hinata – status.”

“Sections A, B, C, and E are clear.  Team Gai and several chuunin are eliminating the last threats in Section D.  ANBU have surrounded the barrier on the roof; the Hokage is still fighting inside.”  Kakashi muttered a curse but nodded, purposefully avoiding looking towards Naruto.  The others were doing the same, though now that their lives weren’t in immediate danger reality was coming back for a hard hit.

“Haku, go release all of the villagers you can from the genjutsu and escort them to safety.  You two come with me; we need to join the main forces and . . .” Kakashi trailed off as a chill ran down his spine.  _What . . ._

All eyes turned finally to the scene they had been avoiding, to Naruto’s corpse that still hung from Shukaku’s spikes.  Vermilion chakra was oozing from his wounds and pooling below, beginning to move in a sluggish circle as it rose gradually around him.  Hinata took in a sharp, choking breath before taking several hurried steps forward, but Kakashi’s hand fell heavy on her shoulder.

“Stop,” he said in a low, harsh tone.  Despite herself Hinata froze, the urgency in her teacher’s voice piercing through her overwhelming anxiety.  “This chakra feels . . . Different from the kind Naruto uses.  It’s almost like . . .” _Like it was on that day._

The ground began to tremble, and the thickening air filled with a low, resonating hum.  More chakra was pouring from Naruto, becoming brighter by the second.  It was leaking out of his skin now, enveloping him in a dense shroud of energy.  The rotating chakra began to accelerate, spiraling higher and higher around him with every passing moment until it disappeared from sight.  Shukaku’s spikes disintegrated in the tempest, leaving Naruto suspended in the middle of the whirlwind of power.  Wind picked up along with it, sending hurricane gales in every direction.

“Naruto-kun!” Hinata yelled, shielding her eyes as debris scattered all around.  Even with her Byakugan she could hardly see through the mass of chakra, but just before it became too dense to pierce she saw Naruto’s eyes snap open, and her blood froze in her veins.  Staring back at her was a pair of wide, alien eyes, devoid of anything but a blinding, bloodthirsty red light that seemed to burn straight to her soul.  She let out a strangled sob and fell to her knees, shaking.

“Get back!” Kakashi yelled, already lifting Hinata and turning to sprint away from Naruto.  “It’s the Kyuubi – _the Kyuubi!_ ” It was exactly the same as twelve years ago; it was the same unfathomable, malevolent chakra of the nine-tailed fox.

They had almost made it to the far wall of the arena when the ground rippled beneath their feet.  A deafening thunderclap pierced through the howling wind, and the air began to crackle as the incredible chakra reached its peak.  Hinata’s eyes were locked on the column of red-orange light, trying desperately to see through it with her Byakugan despite being terrified of what she might see.  Kakashi pressed on, leading them up the wall and only stopping once he reached the top.

Everything became very still a moment later.  The dust and rubble settled to the ground, the wind died down, and the earth ceased its shaking.  Shukaku’s rampage could be heard once again, as well as the shouts and explosions from nearby battles.  Kakashi turned, still holding Hinata, and both Haku and Sasuke followed his gaze back to the harsh beam of light – back to where Naruto should have been.  The pillar of chakra was collapsing, but instead of falling back into itself it was expanding, writhing and distorting rapidly.  At first it appeared to be a formless mass of energy, but once it reached the height of the outer wall its true shape became clear.

“Ancestors preserve us . . .” Kakashi whispered, his eye wide as nine distinct tails stretched towards the sky.  The body of chakra was elongating now, stretching opposite the tails to form the head and torso of a giant fox.  Four sets of claws touched down on what remained of the arena floor.  Up until that point the entire being had been wrought of pure, red chakra, but as the fox’s silhouette completed the power began to flow away.  The liquid energy melted off to reveal the last thing any citizen of Konoha would ever want to see.

“Kyuubi no Kitsune . . .” Sasuke had been the one to voice in awe what they all had been dreading to recognize.  The beast’s back reached Shukaku’s standing height, towering above the amphitheater.  Its head was the closest to them, and though it was at least a dozen meters above they could clearly see its eyes easing open.  Two spheres of deep crimson blinked once, and then the Kyuubi let out a thunderous, barking laugh.

“Run!” Kakashi yelled, but before he could pivot to leap from the tower a deep, growling voice invaded his mind and stopped him in his tracks.  Sasuke and Haku had similar reactions, and Hinata could only stare wide-eyed up at the fox.

“ ** _Stay where you are, mortals,”_** Kurama rumbled, lowering his head so that his eyes were level with them.  **_“Unless you want this child to die.”_**

“Naruto’s alive?” Sasuke blurted out, hope causing him to momentarily forget his fear.  Hinata took in a sharp breath and struggled in Kakashi’s arms until he numbly set her down.  She took several quick steps towards the Kyuubi, heedless of the potential danger.  Kurama’s eyes narrowed and focused on the girl approaching his snout, and the barest smirk pulled at his expression.

**_“Ah, his girlfriend, the Hyuuga – Hinata, was it?”_** Hinata’s face turned ashen and she stopped, wavering on her feet before nodding slowly.  **_“And Sasuke, the Uchiha boy.  Hatake Kakashi, the infamous Copy Ninja, too.  Even the new Haku kid is here.”_** Each of them nodded in turn; they didn’t dare turn and flee, especially after hearing that Naruto might be alive.

“Is Naruto-kun still alive, K-Kyuubi-sama?” Hinata stammered, desperate to get the words out.  Kurama rolled his eyes and snorted.

**_“Can’t you humans communicate without using your mouths?”_** he asked, annoyed.  **_“If Naruto could figure it out, I’m sure you can.”_** Hinata’s lips parted to respond, then closed again.  The Kyuubi smirked and shook its head.  **_“I suppose there’s not time for that – he needs your help._**

**_Naruto let me out himself, because it was his only chance to live.  He clings to a thread between life and death, barely holding on through his own strength of will.  I am using my chakra to mend his most grievous injuries, but without help he will be lost, and I along with him.”_ **

“W-what do we need to do?” Hinata’s voice was high and filled with fear, but she forced herself to keep her eyes on the Kyuubi’s.  If there was a chance to save Naruto, she would do anything.

**_“His body is contained within mine now, absorbing my chakra.  You have some skill with healing, girl, as does your teacher.  I can push Naruto to the surface and allow the two of you to assist in his mending, but you will need to work fast and hang on while we move.”_ **

“Move?” Sasuke asked dubiously.  “Where are you going?”

**_“Do you see another bijuu around that can put that mad tanuki in its place?”_** Kurama growled.  Sasuke blanched and took a step back.  **_“I’m going to force him out of the city and deal with him there.  Any questions?”_**   Everyone but Kakashi shook their head quickly, and the jounin instead took in a deep, calming breath before turning to Haku.

“Haku, help escort the villagers like I asked.”

“But–” Haku started, but Kakashi cut him off.

“Your duty as a shinobi of the Leaf is to protect the citizens of Konoha, first and foremost.  Don’t let me down.”  Even Hinata turned from the Kyuubi to look back at Kakashi, startled at his words.  Haku blinked at the man for a few seconds before smiling faintly, vanishing in a frosty mist a moment later.  “Kyuubi no Kitsune,” Kakashi continued reverently, turning to bow towards the colossal beast.  “I have one request before we go.”

**_“Make it quick; our lives lay in the balance.”_ **

“All I ask is that you destroy the structure behind you before we leave the area,” he continued quickly, nodding towards the indicated tower.  Atop the building was Orochimaru’s barrier, as well as the group of ANBU that were now trying to split their attention between Kurama and the field maintained by the four Oto-nin.  “The Hokage is trapped inside–”

A single tail swept down and across the midsection of the building, tearing it in half and sending a landslide of splintered wood and shattered stone cascading to the ground.  Another tail ripped through the upper section, and a moment later the barrier flickered and died as the roof split on its way to the ground.

**_“Satisfied?  Let’s go.”_** Kakashi shut his still open mouth, rousing himself to follow the Kyuubi’s orders.  It was unnerving to approach the beast, but there was no way he would allow Naruto to die without doing everything he could to prevent it.

Hinata made the jump first, leaping from the top of the wall and alighting on the bridge of Kurama’s nose.  The moment she made contact she could feel its breath passing beneath her feet, a veritable typhoon of air being drawn in and pushed out every few seconds.  Sasuke and Kakashi landed soon after, and she shook herself and hurriedly ran up between the Kyuubi’s burning eyes.  They reached the back of his neck and stopped when he spoke again.

**_“There will be best.  You’d best use plenty of chakra to hold on; this won’t be a smooth ride.”_**   They knelt and began to channel as much energy as they could spare to their feet, and were glad of it a breath later when Kurama lurched forward to bound through the hole Shukaku had left in the wall.  His voice continued to echo in their minds, eerily clear alongside the wind rushing past.  **_“Uchiha, you’ll have your part to play as well.”_**

_“Me?”_ Sasuke asked, directing his thoughts rather than his voice; words would be useless at such high speeds.

**_“Looks like you figured it out,”_** the Kyuubi mused.  **_“While they work to heal Naruto, you’ll follow my lead.  Shukaku might be the weakest of the bijuu, but he’s not as foolish as he appears.  His body is made of sand, making him virtually impossible to kill, so we must aim for his jinchuuriki.  While the medium sleeps, Shukaku roams free.”_**

_“Gaara is inside of Shukaku too?  Where?”_

**_“Either the forehead or chest cavity.  I’ll do my part in exposing the kid; you need to do yours in killing him while I hold the opening.”_**   Sasuke nodded, setting himself with grim, determined features.  His eyes gleamed with the red of the Sharingan, each iris inlaid with three black tomoe.  **_“He’s coming out; be ready.”_**

Hinata and Kakashi tensed as the fur at the center of the Kyuubi’s neck rippled and distended.  The first thing they saw was a familiar shock of blond hair, and Hinata had to suppress her swelling tears.  A moment later she had to hold back a wave of nausea as the rest of Naruto’s broken body emerged.  Much of the right half of his torso was still missing, exposing his regenerating organs to the air.  The Kyuubi’s chakra coated everything like a film, gradually stitching flesh back together and using Naruto’s own cells to recreate what had been lost.  His shattered ribcage was creeping back to its original form, curving back over his chest to reattach to his sternum.  Even as they watched his previously half-destroyed lung finished forming, matching its partner with extremely shallow inflations.

**_“Neither of you have the skill to fix the serious internal damage; focus on closing the wounds and resealing the abdominal and thoracic cavities, then rebuild the muscles in his torso and arm.  I’ll handle the nerves.”_** Kakashi moved first; Hinata was trapped staring in pained horror for several long seconds before her teacher brought her back to her senses.

“Hinata, we don’t have time to spare.  Help me.”  She shivered and moved unsteadily to her fallen friend, forcing all abject thoughts from her mind and kneeling at Naruto’s side opposite Kakashi.  He nodded to her and placed his hands over one half of Naruto’s chest, and Hinata mirrored him.  The soft green glow of medical ninjutsu began to flow in alongside the scarlet of Kurama’s chakra.

**_“Spare nothing if you want him to have a chance.  You have only minutes to provide what aid you can before it’s too late.”_** Kakashi and Hinata said nothing, but the light from their techniques intensified until it was difficult to look at.  Fleshy cavities stretched over the repairing innards, hidden slowly by creeping layers of bone and muscle.  The tissues laced themselves together, spurred on by the influx of chakra.

Shukaku loomed ahead, ignorant of the Kyuubi racing towards him in his crazed jubilation.  **_“Brace yourselves.”_**   The warning came only seconds before Kurama hit the Ichibi, ramming his shoulder into the giant tanuki’s back.  All three of his passengers had to struggle to keep from being thrown off, and Sasuke even slid several meters up the fox’s neck, barely hanging on with one foot.  **_“Don’t lose focus,”_** the fox growled as the force of the impact made Kakashi and Hinata’s healing temporarily falter.

The Ichibi was heavy; its entire body seemed to be made of sand, which went a long way in absorbing the blow.  He still stumbled and fell, however, causing a minor tremor.

“Kyuubi!  Kyuubi!” Shukaku screeched, flowing back to his feet and twisting around.  “You came out to play!  The medium is dying, yes?  You’ll follow soon, soon!  I’ll . . .”  Kurama’s tails arched up and over his back, pointing towards the Ichibi’s chest.  A black orb formed and hovered for a split second at the tip of each tail before launching towards their target.  As soon as he released them Kurama jumped away, distancing himself as if cautious of his own attack.  Shukaku’s grin fell, and for the first time he looked annoyed and serious.  “You always did try to ruin my fun, fox.”

_“Why are we retreating?”_ Sasuke asked, tensing so that his knees wouldn’t buckle from the landing.  _“Don’t we need to get to Gaara as soon as possible?”_

**_“Getting him out of the village first.”_** Confused, Sasuke assessed the situation.  The border wall was a few hundred meters on Shukaku’s other side, and the fox’s attack didn’t seem like it would be very effective in accomplishing his goal. The orbs were small – maybe two or three meters in diameter each.  It wasn’t until the Kyuubi slid to a halt and the nine balls of chakra hit that Sasuke understood just how wrong he was.

Shukaku’s chest became the epicenter of the largest release of power Sasuke had ever seen.  The explosion covered an entire block of buildings, vaporizing them instantly.  An instant later a giant black and beige blur flew back from the blinding display of energy, moving far faster than the enormous mass of sand should have been capable.  Before the Ichibi’s progress had even begun to slow it collided with the thick barrier that marked the edge of Konoha, and it may as well have been made of paper.  Shukaku careened through it, cutting a furrow dozens of meters across into the forest beyond.  Another earthquake shook the entire village, but after a moment everything seemed oddly quiet.  The sounds of fighting had ceased, and the only noticeable ambiance was the sound of fires spreading from the Kyuubi’s attack.

“What . . .” Sasuke began, eyes wide as he stared at the destruction.

**_“Bijuudama.  A few small ones, anyway; I didn’t want to completely destroy that half of the village.”_ **

“A few small ones . . .” Sasuke said faintly.  _This is so far beyond our level that I can’t even begin to fathom their power._

**_“We’re going.  Remember the plan.”_** Kurama dug his claws into a few collapsed homes and took off after his quarry, and Sasuke finally got ahold of himself enough to look around in the brief moments before they barreled through the newly created city exit.  The arena was now a battered ruin, and the area surrounding it appeared to be in the same condition.  Little damage had been done where buildings had not been flattened by one of the two tailed beasts.  In the distance, however, towards the north wall Sasuke could make out three huge snakes wreaking havoc.  The last thing he saw before leaving Konoha was a toad – nearly as tall as the Kyuubi – appear and crush one of the reptiles.

The world lurched to one side as Kurama jumped right, narrowly avoiding a barrage of familiar wind attacks.  Shukaku came into view as he was getting back to his feet, towering ten times the height of the surrounding trees.  Sand littered the area around the tailed beast, fully covering the treetops as it writhed and flowed back into its host.  The Ichibi’s chest had been collapsed inward, and a few rays of light poked through holes in the deepest sections.  He looked _furious._

**_“The jinchuuriki must be inside of his head.  Be ready,”_** the Kyuubi cautioned the group, leaping towards the sand monstrosity.  Kakashi and Hinata braced themselves, and Sasuke dropped to his knees to take hold of two tufts of fur, channeling more chakra into his grip.

Shukaku swung his tail around, intercepting the fox’s extended paw.  As Kurama’s claws drove forward sand shot from the Ichibi’s tail, rapidly consuming his wrist.  The Kyuubi snarled and raked at the sand with free claw, wrenching the other away and bounding back.

“What’s wrong, Kyuubi?” Shukaku sneered, whipping his tail back.  “I thought having nine tails made you the stronger one!”  He opened his mouth wide, and countless globules of black and blue chakra began to merge together.  The result was a sphere identical to the ones the Kyuubi had cast, except this one was much, much larger.  Without preamble the attack was launched at Kurama, aimed at his feet.

Kurama pivoted, only having time to take a short running leap to one side before the Bijuudama made contact.  The detonation that followed could only be described as catastrophic in scale; if it had gone off within Konoha’s walls it would have easily destroyed half of the village.  The Kyuubi’s size allowed it to cover a score of acres in a single jump, but even that was not enough to avoid the blast completely.  The incredible force hit while he was in mid-air, and it was a struggle to keep from tumbling aside.  Kurama managed to land hard on his feet, uprooting a few hundred trees as he slid across the ground.

**_Damn the Fourth for sealing away the other half of my chakra,_** the Kyuubi thought bitterly, his fangs parting as a bright red light formed within his mouth.  An instant later he was on the move, sprinting in a wide arc around Shukaku and releasing a continuous stream of oblong crimson bullets.  Where they struck columns of brilliant light erupted into the sky, and before long dark clouds began to gather overhead.

_“Are those . . . Fire techniques?”_ Sasuke asked, squinting up at the sky through the rushing wind.  The fox didn’t respond, but the way that weather was changing was answer enough.  He looked back to Shukaku, noting that despite their power the Kyuubi’s attacks were barely moving the beast.  The tanuki didn’t even bother blocking them, allowing the abilities to take out huge chunks of his would-be flesh.

**_“Shukaku’s strength lies in his body’s constitution, but it is also his weakness.  While he is nearly impossible to harm, his movements are sluggish.  I’m going in to make the opening.”_**   Kurama changed course then, bounding towards the Ichibi and letting loose several more blasts of chakra.  He held the last one longer, concentrating more and more energy until it shone bright even through his clenched jaws.  With a deafening roar the Kyuubi released it, and this time a _beam_ of energy slashed towards Shukaku rather than another projectile.  The stream of fire was infused with immeasurable amounts of chakra, and when it sliced across the Ichibi it cut straight through.

Shukaku screamed in anger as his body was severed from his left shoulder to opposite hip.  His tail was caught in the line of fire as well, cut near the middle and falling with his mangled torso.  Sand rained across the forest, crushing everything under its weight.  Before the Ichibi’s upper body had even hit the ground Kurama was upon him, one forepaw stamping down on his attached arm and the other ripping towards his skull.  The Kyuubi’s claws tore into the sandy shell in two concise strikes, heedless of the flailing mass behind him.

**_“There!”_** As the second swipe cleared Shukaku’s face, Sasuke saw the hard exterior of Gaara’s ultimate defense exposed beneath the surface.  A moment later the fox grunted and was jerked back; the lower half of the Ichibi’s body had reformed into giant clawed hand, and it was now latched on at the base of Kurama’s tails.  The Kyuubi snarled and dug in his claws, forming yet more chakra in his mouth.  **_“Go!”_** he shouted, firing the final bolt straight at Gaara’s shell.  Sasuke sprinted forward without hesitation, leaping after the fiery blast just as Shukaku overpowered Kurama.  The fox was wrenched back and heaved away, crashing to his side.

Sasuke barely had time to hope that Hinata and Kakashi were safe with Naruto before the Kyuubi’s attack hit ahead of him.  It burst against the hard sand and was scattered, but not before melting a sizeable hole through the shell.  As Sasuke fell towards the opening he could see Gaara within, his bloodied body hunched over and struggling to breathe.  _The Kyuubi said to kill him, but . . ._ _‘While the medium sleeps’._   He only had time for one attack, and if he guessed wrong their entire plan would be for naught.  If they didn’t defeat Shukaku here and now, not only would Naruto’s chance at survival disappear, but the village could be destroyed.  Sasuke grit his teeth and pulled the katana from his back, channeling chakra into his hand.  Electricity crackled in his palm, racing up the blade as he spun it around.  He held the grip with both hands, driving it down towards Gaara’s exposed chest – he aimed for the heart.

The tip of the shining steel met the jinchuuriki’s chest just as Shukaku’s upper body shifted, throwing the attack off course.  Sasuke landed hard on the smoldering remains of Gaara’s shield, thrusting the sword down as far as it would go.  He caught a glimpse of Gaara’s eyes flying open, accompanied by a spray of blood from the boy’s mouth as he gasped.  An instant later Sasuke was thrown through the air as Shukaku screamed and whipped his head up, clawing desperately at his ruined forehead.

“No, no, _no!_   I was out!  I want to kill more, I want to _live_ more!  Filthy mortals; cursed Kyuubi!” Shukaku swept his arm at Sasuke, who braced himself for the impact.  But a moment later the sand was breaking apart, and all that reached him was a broad wave that soon fell in a monstrous heap across the forest below.  Sasuke was still travelling in an uncontrolled descent towards the treetops when he hit something surprisingly . . . soft.  He rebounded off of it, seeing only a flash of orange before he landed on his back – right into the Kyuubi’s open palm.

**_“Good work, kid,”_** Kurama rumbled, smirking down at Sasuke.  **_“That foolish tanuki is already nearly gone.”_** It took Sasuke a moment to get his breath back and stand shakily, wincing as a lance of pain shot through one leg.  Just as the fox had said, there was little left of Shukaku save for the gradually dissipating sand dunes.  It was only then that he could survey the result of a _brief_ battle between two tailed beasts.  Aside from the trench left behind from Shukaku’s initial exit from Konoha, everywhere the two bijuu had tread had left an area barren of trees.  The near kilometer-wide crater from the Ichibi’s Bijuudama was starting to fill with water, likely as a result of rupturing a natural aquifer deep beneath the surface.  Dozens of smaller craters littered the forest as a result of the Kyuubi’s fire attacks, and Sasuke could see several patches of forest burning steadily.  The dark clouds above sparked with lightning, a precursor to the torrential downpour that began moments after.

_“I don’t think I killed him,”_ Sasuke sighed, turning to limp towards Kurama’s wrist.  _“I aimed to, but Shukaku moved at the last second and I hit his lung instead of his heart.”_

**_“One thing both you mortals and we tailed beasts have in common is our drive to live.  Shukaku may be mad, but he will do anything to survive, even if it means saving a vessel that he loathes.”_** Sasuke nodded absently, too tired to think about much aside from his team’s condition.  He was completely drained, even after taking the soldier pill earlier.  Before he had made it very far the Kyuubi lifted its arm, depositing Sasuke unceremoniously atop its back.

_“How’s Naruto?”_ he asked after stumbling to keep his balance and starting for where Hinata and Kakashi still knelt healing.  As he approached he could see sweat on their brows, and they both looked pale.  Naruto’s torso was almost completely whole again, and Kakashi was working on stitching his severed arm back together.  The blond’s breathing was still painfully shallow, but at least he was breathing.

**_“I won’t know until I go back to my cage,”_** Kurama shrugged, starting back for Konoha at a slow walk.  Sasuke slumped down next to Hinata as the green glow about her palms flickered and faded.  She made a weak, frustrated noise and tried to continue, blinking away tears.

“Stop, Hinata,” Kakashi breathed, looking more strained than they had ever seen him.  “You’ll pass out from chakra exhaustion if you expend any more energy.  I can finish this.”  Hinata looked as if she wanted to argue, but her half-lidded eyes couldn’t lie.  She wavered as her concentration fell, and Sasuke had to catch her before she could tumble from the fox’s back.  Kakashi grimaced and moved away from Naruto’s mended arm, closing the last gaps in the skin at his side before withdrawing with a heavy sigh.  The jounin looked across his fallen student and smiled faintly; Sasuke and Hinata were supporting one another, both determined to stay conscious despite their exhaustion.

**_“His body is nearly repaired; it’s now up to him.  Let’s see if he has the strength break free from the clutches of death.”_** Team Seven remained silent in the heavy rain, all watching as Naruto sank back into the Kyuubi.  Kakashi turned to observe the ravaged forest, watching the fires dwindle and die around him.  Flickers of movement drew his gaze to where Shukaku had been defeated, and he watched as three figures lifted Gaara’s bloodied body from the sand before vanishing from sight.

_The battle must be dying down,_ he thought tiredly, turning his eye back to the village.  Plumes of smoke rose from many places still, but the giant snakes were nowhere to be seen.  Several squads were guarding the gate as they approached, further indicating that the conflict within the walls had been contained.  They looked like tiny specks from so high up, but Kakashi could tell that they were panicking and running the moment the Kyuubi came into their view.

**_“Get down; I don’t want to deal with your ignorant shinobi trying to attack me.”_** Kakashi nodded to Hinata and Sasuke, who rose slowly with him.  Kurama hunched his shoulders and lowered himself to the ground, collapsing trees on either side of the broad road with the action.  One of the few ninjas still manning the door stared in blatant disbelief as the three passengers disembarked, dropping down from the Kyuubi’s nose.

“What . . .” Ibiki started, unable to finish as the fox’s annoyed eyes flicked to him.  He blanched and backed into the gate, remaining silent.  Kakashi gave him a weak smile before turning back to Kurama.

“On behalf of Konoha,” the jounin began, bowing deeply, “Thank you, Kyuubi-sama, for aiding our village.”

“A-and thank you,” Hinata inserted quietly, “For helping Naruto-kun.” Sasuke nodded, meeting Kurama’s eyes.  To their surprise the Kyuubi let out a deep, rumbling chuckle before closing his eyes.  A soft orange-red light began to rise from the bijuu then, slowly growing in intensity.

**_“Naruto wasn’t lying about you three,”_** he said, a touch of amusement in his tone.  **_“A Hyuuga that lacks her clan’s arrogance, a jounin that holds no grudge from my unwilling attack, and an Uchiha whose eyes don’t seek to control my power.  You’re interesting, for mortals.  I’ve never met humans like you.”_**   Kurama yawned and stretched as the light reached its brightest, its body shimmering and fading gradually.  **_“It was enjoyable getting to stretch my legs for the first time in twelve years.  Now don’t let this kid try to kill himself again, or I’ll be back to give you hell.”_**   A moment later the Kyuubi was gone, leaving behind only a few stray shimmers of chakra and a single prone form in the middle of the road: Naruto.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“How many times am I going to wake up here?” Naruto mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes and sitting up in the all-too familiar watery room.  “Didn’t you just say ‘see you on the other side’?  This is the same side.”

**_“You’re still not conscious, idiot,”_** the Kyuubi said blandly, blinking its eyes open from beyond the sealed gate.  **_“But it appears you survived.”_**

“Er . . . What do you mean?”

**_“Your soul has been flirting with the boundary between this life and the next for nearly five days.  Normally a part of you is always present here, but even that was absent.”_ **

“Oh,” Naruto started, not entirely sure what the fox meant.  He remembered why he was going to die, and the Kyuubi’s plan to save him, but little beyond that.  It was all just murky blackness.  “Sorry if you got lonely while I was gone,” he continued, smirking.  “What happened while I was, uh . . . nearly dead?”  Kurama rolled his eyes, but didn’t keep the tale from the boy.

“Whoa.  You came out and fought the Ichibi?  And Kakashi-sensei, Hinata-chan, and Sasuke all rode on your back?!”

**_“Your ability to ignore major ideas and get stuck in the pointless details never ceases to annoy me.”_ **

“Whatever,” Naruto scowled, but before long he kept on asking for said ‘pointless details’, mostly on how Sasuke had defeated Gaara and the abilities Kurama and Shukaku had traded.  He was silent for a long while after the Kyuubi explained how much time and chakra Hinata and Kakashi had spent in healing him.  “Everybody’s safe though, right?”

**_“Your team is, at least.  I can’t say about the rest of your friends or the villagers, but the casualties certainly range in the hundreds.  It was a large scale assault, and Shukaku likely racked up his own toll before I got him away from the city.”_ **

“Thank you for that, by the way,” Naruto said with an appreciative grin.  “I know you didn’t have to do it, and it sounded pretty troublesome.”  Kurama only snorted, closing his eyes again.

**_“Get some rest; you may be back here, but that doesn’t mean you’ll come out of your coma.”_** Naruto’s expression sobered and he nodded, wading over to the gate and sliding down with his back to it.

“Kurama,” he began after a few minutes, staring off into the darkness.  “I heard . . . something while I was gone.  They were voices, and they were calling my name.”  One of the Kyuubi’s eyes cracked open, looking down at the boy.

**_“You were very close to death.  I wouldn’t be surprised if you heard some of the deceased calling to you.”_ **

“They were my parents’ voices.”  Kurama blinked both eyes open at that.  “I don’t know how I know, but I just . . . I know it was them.”  Naruto was quiet for a time, struggling to find the words he desperately wanted to get out.  “You told me . . . that you know who my parents are.”

**_“I told you that I killed your parents,”_** the Kyuubi corrected bluntly, and Naruto recoiled at the words.  After a moment Kurama sighed and softened his tone; he knew what the boy was after.  **_“Your mother’s name was Uzumaki Kushina, and she was the second jinchuuriki that I was sealed into.”_** Naruto froze and stopped breathing, and almost immediately his eyes and throat began to burn.  **_“Your father’s name was Namikaze Minato, the fourth Hokage of Konohagakure.”_** Tears were already flowing unashamedly down Naruto’s cheeks, dripping steadily into the water below.

“Can you . . .” he started, trying to hold back his choking tears long enough to make his request.  “I know you . . . that you killed them, and it’s not something that can be changed.  B-but if you were sealed inside of my mom, you’d know a lot about her and my dad, right?”  He sniffed and turned to look up at the fox, his eyes pained and pleading.  “I just want to know . . . what my parents were like.”

Kurama was silent for a very long time, eyes having moved from Naruto’s to stare off into open space.  He didn’t need to indulge the child; it might even be better not to.  But he had lived through Naruto’s anguish as well.  Perhaps at the time he hadn’t noticed it, but looking back it had been all too real.  Mortals valued those that brought them into the world the same way the tailed beasts did their creator.  To deny Naruto such a thing would only be cruel.  **_We’ve got time anyway,_** he reasoned, though he wasn’t fooling himself in the least.

**_“I know more of Kushina than Minato, but I will tell you what I know of them, up until the day they died protecting you, twelve years ago.”_**   Naruto didn’t bother with stifling his tears as the Kyuubi began, realizing now what the fox had truly meant before.  _Sometimes being the one who lives is being the one who loses the most._   He now understood how Hinata must have felt.  Even though he hadn’t fully seen it until then, he had been feeling the same way his entire life.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

It had been a calm night in Konoha, the first in the week since the attack.  The artificial storm had caused it to rain for days, and a natural front had swept in afterward to continue its work.  Naruto watched out of the hospital window as a grey morning began to break over the city.  Signs of the battle were readily visible even there; Shukaku had come within a block of the hospital before Kurama had ejected him from the village.  The rubble had been cleaned up by dedicated crews working through the rain, but it would be a long while before all of the damage would be repaired.  Houses just across the street had been crushed by the bijuu’s titanic conflict, and Naruto had recently learned that some had still been occupied at the time.

“Are you alright?” Hinata asked sleepily, rubbing at her eyes as she lifted her head from the pillow beside him.  Just as he had stayed by her side when she had been in the hospital, Hinata had remained with Naruto through his time there.  He had been greeted the day before by her tearful embrace, and he couldn’t have imagined a better way to come back to reality.

“I’m okay, just thinking,” he responded truthfully, refocusing on the window rather than what was outside of it.  His reflection stared back at him, and it was an image he was still trying to get used to.  “Kurama said that there would be consequences beyond the physical scars.  I guess I just wasn’t expecting . . . this.”  Hinata nibbled thoughtfully on her lower lip as she sat up, leaning against the headboard beside Naruto and blocking his view of the window.  She turned slightly to face him, undeterred by the pair of dark red eyes looking back at her.  Then she lifted her hand and tapped his cheek with her fingers, smiling gently.

“Remember what you told me in the woods, just before the first exam?” Naruto glanced down at her hand, then back up as the memory came back.  Hinata continued when she saw that he remembered, still holding a small smile.  “I’m not going to smack any sense into you, Naruto-kun – not in that way at least.  But you were right: I _do_ know you, and I know that just because your eyes look different and your teeth got a little sharper, it doesn’t mean you’re not yourself anymore.”

“And I have to cut my nails almost every day.”  He smirked wryly, lifting a hand and examining the tips of his fingers.  Though he had filed them the night before, his thickened nails had already begun to extend into points like miniature claws.  He took Hinata’s hand after a moment, giving it a light squeeze.  “Thanks, Hinata-chan.  I know I’m still me; it’s just taking some getting used to, I guess.”  She nodded and returned the gesture, blushing lightly and turning her eyes to his hair.

“I do like your hair, though; it’s so subtle I almost missed it at first.”  Naruto grinned then, running his spare hand through his spiky blond locks.  The roots had been turned a bright reddish hue, but seemed to go no further than a centimeter past his scalp.

“I like it, too.  The Kyuubi said it’s almost the same color as my mom’s hair.  It’s like I’ve got a little bit of both of my parents up here now.”  He tapped his head, and though Hinata could see the faraway sadness in his eyes, there was also an abundance of joy.  Before she could ask after another story about his parents, however, a knock came at the door.  Hinata glanced over at it, wondering who might be checking up on Naruto at such an early hour.

“Come in,” Naruto called, making a face at Hinata before the door opened.  “The medic-nin said I could leave today; are you here to . . .” He trailed off as a man stepped into the room, and immediately stiffened upon recognizing the high brow and intense white eyes.

“Greetings, Uzumaki Naruto,” Hiashi said sedately.  To Naruto’s surprise – and Hinata’s shock – he bowed, and the action didn’t appear forced in any way.  He turned his eyes to his daughter, and for the first time in her life she could see regret and pain behind his impassive features.  He inclined his head to her as well, voice becoming lower.  “Greetings, Hyuuga Hinata.  I’ve come to speak with both of you, if I may.”

“Ano . . .” Naruto began, glancing quickly to Hinata.  She had tensed immediately upon seeing Hiashi, and was still gripping Naruto’s hand tightly.  She nodded slowly to her father, then again to Naruto.  “Sure, Hiashi-sama.  What did you need to talk about?”  He had trouble addressing the man with such reverence after hearing about what he had put Hinata through, but if she was willing to hear him out he wouldn’t be rude.

“I . . .” Hiashi hesitated, taking in a deep breath and smoothing his expression over.  “I came to thank you, Naruto, for saving my daughter’s life.”  Naruto blinked at him several times, processing the expression of gratitude.  “And I also came to apologize for the opinion I have held of you up until now.  It was unfair of me to judge you so harshly, especially after Hinata had tried to convince me otherwise.”

“Ah, no problem, sir.” Naruto didn’t know what to say beyond that, struck dumb by the sudden and sincere apology.  Hiashi nodded, then turned his eyes back to Hinata.

“Hinata, I . . . I have treated you unfairly as well.  No,” he corrected, grimacing and shaking his head.  “I have wronged you terribly, and failed you as a father in my blindness.  I wished only to make you strong, not realizing that you were becoming so on your own.  In my folly I cast you from our clan.  I wanted you to stay away from Naruto because I thought him dangerous, but I see now that I was a fool all along.”  Hinata took in a sharp breath as Hiashi lowered himself to the floor, prostrating himself before the two of them.  When he spoke his voice nearly shook, stricken with emotion.  “I know it is selfish of me . . . but I ask your forgiveness, daughter.”

Hinata was silent for a time, and the seconds dragged by until she slid off of the bed, stepping over to her father and kneeling in front of him.  When she finally spoke her voice was calm and gentle, though edged with the same tearful emotions that Hiashi’s was.  “I forgive you, father; of course I forgive you.  Please stand up.”  He straightened slowly, and when she met his eyes they were shimmering with unshed tears.  Without waiting for him to rise Hinata shifted her weight and fell forward into him, wrapping her arms around his waist in a firm hug.  Hiashi stiffened, staring over her head in surprise as if unsure how to react.  His eyes fell on Naruto, who was smiling at the two of them as he mouthed the words ‘hug her back’, miming the action.  The man blinked a few times before raising his arms and following the boy’s advice, pulling Hinata close to him and returning the embrace with more fervor than either of them had expected.  Several minutes and many sniffles later they separated, standing together.

“I have one more thing to tell you – both of you,” Hiashi said after a deep breath, turning first to his daughter.  “I wish to reinstate you as heiress to the Hyuuga clan, Hinata, and welcome you back to the estate.  I know that I may be too late to mend the damage that I have caused, but the choice is yours to make.”  Hinata bit her lip and looked back at Naruto, though he only shrugged and smiled at her.

“May I have some time to think it over?” she asked hesitantly.  Hiashi bowed again, and Hinata felt another surge of emotion at his unexpected understanding.

“Naruto,” he continued, turning to face the boy and inclining his head once more.  “The Hyuuga will recognize you and Uchiha Sasuke as friends of our clan, and you are both welcome in our homes from this day forward.  Should you ever find yourself in need of our aid, we will provide it without hesitation.”  More than any other of Hiashi’s statements, this choked Naruto up the most.  It was a simple show of appreciation, he knew, but he was being accepted.  Not only that, but he was being called a friend of the most influential clan in Konoha.

“Thank you, Hiashi-sama,” Naruto said gruffly, bowing as best he could from his bed.  Hiashi returned the gesture, and then moved to place a hand on Hinata’s shoulder.  He offered her a kind smile before turning to depart, closing the door silently behind him.  Both Hinata and Naruto watched the door for some time before she finally shivered and returned to the bed, though she lingered without getting in.

“I guess things might be changing soon,” she said quietly, turning towards the window.

“I guess so,” Naruto agreed, watching as the first rays of sunlight began to spill over the horizon.  “Some things don’t ever change though, right?”  He could see the corner of Hinata’s lips quirk up in a small smile, and as she nodded he was struck anew by a thought that had been plaguing him since he had intercepted Shukaku’s attack.  He flushed as he spoke up again, and his heart rate sped up without warning.  “Hey, ah . . .” She turned to look at him, and his blush deepened as he searched for the right words.  “I . . . I heard what you said, just after . . .” He trailed off, and recognition caused Hinata’s cheeks to color a brilliant shade of red.  She turned away hurriedly, and Naruto couldn’t help but notice how pretty she looked silhouetted against the rising sun.  An impulse took hold of him, and before he could lose his nerve he reached out for Hinata’s hand, pulling her off balance.  She turned in the middle of her fall, eyes growing wide in surprise as his other arm swept around her waist and pulled her to him.

Time stopped as Hinata caught herself on his chest, and Naruto’s lips touched her own in a soft, infinitely delicate kiss.  Her eyes grew wider still, and before her mind could stop racing he broke the contact, leaving her stunned and staring at his reddened features.

“S-sorry,” he stammered.  Hinata came back to herself long enough to realize that Naruto looked distraught; he felt _guilty_ for having kissed her.  She hesitated only a fraction of a second before making a faint, reassuring sound and pressing forward again.   Her eyes eased shut, and her entire body relaxed.  Her hands crept over his shoulders and laced behind his neck, pulling her closer to him and deepening the embrace.  What began as a tentative, fragile thing gradually became more intimate.  It was as simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying as she had ever imagined it would be, and though it was awkward and full of inexperience, it was _real,_ and it was _theirs_.

Neither of them had a clue how much time passed, but when their lips finally, reluctantly parted the sun was clearly visible above the horizon.  Their eyes opened gradually, and Hinata found herself looking into the slit-like pupils of Naruto’s new eyes.  _But they’re still his,_ she thought distantly, reaching up to touch his cheek.  He grinned sheepishly, and after a few seconds of staring Hinata blushed and buried her face in his chest.  She lowered her hands and let them snake around behind him, not willing to let go just yet.  Naruto wrapped both arms around her waist and held on tight, speaking softly into her ear words that she had been waiting so long to hear.

“I love you too, Hinata-chan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks. Surprise!
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and that it makes up for the terrible cliffhanger from the last. I thank everybody for the super nice reviews and messages regarding this last arc; it was incredibly fun to write.
> 
> Now, I know there’s no way for me to really prove it, but I’ve actually had all of this planned out since the around the beginning of July, written down in my “Future Fic Ideas” document; it was in no way influenced by the introduction of Kurama’s name in the anime canon. You can ask Rhi; she’s been tortured with knowing exactly what was going to happen for almost two months. D=  
> [Rhi Note: Except for the kiss. I didn’t know about that and I am still overwhelmed.]
> 
> Speaking of Rhi, a hearty thanks to her as always for her fantastic editing. Thank you all again for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, and especially for waiting almost two hundred thousand words for Naruto and Hinata to become “official”, at least in the sense that they finally confessed to one another. It was a process, but one I struggled in every single chapter to make natural and realistic, and I really hope it was worth the wait for you; it certainly was for me.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> \- Wes


	18. Learning Curves

“Ow,” Hinata gasped, pulling back sharply.  Naruto blinked his eyes open when he felt her withdraw, and he noted the red droplets on her lower lip immediately.  The blond licked his own lips; the metallic taste of blood was unmistakable, and it was getting to be all too familiar.

“Fangs again?” he asked quietly, sounding crestfallen.  Hinata looked apologetic even as her tongue poked out at him, displaying a small cut at its tip.  She rested her head back in the long grass and flushed lightly.

“It’s not that bad,” she assured him, tapping a finger to the small injury.  A tiny green light sparked at her fingertip, and in a few seconds there was no sign of the cut.  “See?  Besides, I’m still getting used to . . . this,” Hinata continued, gesturing vaguely at everything and nothing at the same time.  While she had meant the recent influx in intimacy – _especially_ this kind of intimacy – Naruto took it as his cue to roll off into the grass beside her.  She blinked and squinted at the sun, something he had been inadvertently blocking for her a moment before.

“I am too,” he sighed, flopping onto his back.  “You know I bit through my lip again this morning after breakfast?  And I’m still not used to seeing myself in the mirror, and . . .” Naruto trailed off as Hinata sat up next to him.  She leaned over and placed a very soft kiss on his lips, unabashed in her show of affection.

“I meant that I’m getting used to _that,_ ” she said with a giggle, moving to lay her head on his shoulder.  One hand rested on his chest, over the area where his shirt hid the worst of the scarring.  When she had seen it for the first time Hinata had nearly fainted.   Naruto shifted the arm she was using as a pillow, wrapping it around her back and resting his hand gently on her shoulder.

“Oh,” he responded after a long pause, glad she couldn’t see his blush.  “Yeah, that too.” Hinata smiled and snuggled closer against his side.  Things had been like this since Naruto had been released from the hospital a few days before, which had been long overdue.  Even though there had been nothing physically wrong with him, the medic-nin had insisted on keeping him there for an extensive battery of tests, likely to figure out _why_ he was okay after what he had gone through.  But at least he was out now, and every chance they got Naruto and Hinata would slip away to one of the more remote training grounds.

“Twenty-eight today?” Sasuke sighed from behind them.  Before, the couple might have scrambled apart – but such a time had long since passed.  Hinata looked up and gave their friend a sheepish smile while Naruto tilted his head back and smirked at the other boy.

“We’ve only been here an hour,” Naruto said affably, stifling a yawn.  “If you get any faster at finding us we’ll never get any alone time.”  Sasuke rolled his eyes and sat down on the blond’s other side.

“Kakashi-sensei wanted me to come get you two.  We’ve got that debriefing with the Hokage in thirty minutes, remember?”

“We were going to meet you there on time,” Naruto said defensively, though there wasn’t quite enough conviction in his voice to persuade Sasuke.  “Right, Hinata?”

“Of course,” she confirmed, covering her mouth with one hand and trying not to laugh.  She got control of her expression quickly, however, flushing when she heard him say her name.  It had felt like such a natural transition after that morning in the hospital.  They were ‘officially dating’ now, as Sasuke liked to point out, and along with that fact came a slew of things neither of them had thought about, including the way they addressed each other now.  It hadn’t been something that required discussion; it was just ‘Hinata’ and ‘Naruto’ now.  “Where’s Haku-chan?” she asked after a moment, glancing around.  “Aren’t you two always together?”

“He’s running some errands,” Sasuke replied nonchalantly, ignoring the grin spreading across Naruto’s face.  “He’ll meet us there.”

“When’re you going to say something to him, Sasuke?” the blond probed.  “Even if you don’t like him like that, it’s obvious that he has feelings for you.”

“Being in a relationship doesn’t make you an expert on other peoples’ feelings, jerk.  And I never bothered either of _you_ about your budding romance over the last few years.”  He flashed a smirk at the pair, who were – as expected – quickly turning red.  “Besides, even if I did like Haku, I don’t have time for that.”

“We make time, even if it’s not a lot,” Hinata said slowly, trying not to blush any more than she already was.  “Iruka-sensei always says to make the most of life, especially as a shinobi.  Our lives have the potential to be far too short, and I know I’d regret it if I didn’t get to . . . t-to love somebody.”  Naruto nodded and squeezed her hand, drawing a faint smile back to her lips.  The harsh memory of almost losing him was still far too fresh in their minds, proven further by Sasuke’s lack of response.

“Maybe you just haven’t met the right person yet,” Naruto suggested as he stood, helping Hinata to her feet.  “How did your second date with Sakura-san go?”

“It was fine, I think,” Sasuke shrugged noncommittally as he followed their lead.  “I think she’s finally gotten over her infatuation and lost some interest, though.”

“Well, you are _really_ boring,” Naruto quipped, earning him a light punch to his shoulder.  He chuckled before continuing, lacing his fingers with Hinata’s as they started back towards town.  “But alright, I won’t bother you about it.  Much.”

“I think you should give it one more try, at least.”  The two boys glanced at Hinata when she offered her suggestion, each raising a surprised eyebrow.  “J-just to be sure, I mean!  I just think that . . . maybe you’re not giving it a fair chance because it didn’t start as a real date.  You only went out with her the first time because you wanted to teach Ino-san a lesson, remember?”  Sasuke considered that for a few seconds before shrugging again.

“I guess so.  I’ll think about it.”

They walked together towards the Hokage’s tower, discussing their plans for the afternoon’s training.  There had been little time for much outside of helping clean up the village after the attack, but Team Seven always managed to find a way to fit training in.  Hinata and Naruto also made time to spend together every day, even if it was only a few short minutes.

“Hey,” Naruto waved as they turned onto a main street, flagging down a clone that was trotting by.  His bunshin slid to a halt, fumbling with and nearly dropping the buckets of nails he was carrying.

“What?  I’m busy here!” the clone snapped.  Naruto blinked, donning an annoyed expression after recovering from the momentary surprise.

“I’m just checking to see how things are going, jerk!  For the half that haven’t been dispersed, at least.”

“Oh, you mean the ones that people haven’t destroyed yet?” The copy was obviously irate, and Naruto couldn’t help but sigh and shrug.

“Alright, whatever; just keep helping out.”

“Yeah, yeah.  By the way, I think one of the others snuck off with her clone,” the bunshin said with a devious grin, nodding at Hinata.  Her face reddened immediately, and Naruto’s mouth worked like he was trying to find something to say.  They caught each other’s eye and looked away quickly, silently agreeing _not_ to release those clones until absolutely necessary.  The bunshin snickered, but a moment later a copy of Sasuke ran by carrying a stack of wooden planks.  The fake Uchiha flicked Naruto’s doppelganger as he passed, smirking all the while.  The blond winced, then scowled.  “Hey!”  Completely forgetting the trio in front of him, the clone turned and raced after the fleeing offender.

“Is there really no way to control their personalities?” Sasuke sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and looking a little self-conscious.  “Hinata and I only made two each, and both of mine were . . . Pretty strange.”

“If there is, I haven’t figured it out,” Naruto huffed, trying not to let his embarrassment show.

“People are still afraid, aren’t they?” Hinata asked quietly after they began walking again.  Her hold on Naruto’s hand tightened slightly as she made her inquiry, already knowing what answer would be coming.

“Can you blame them?” Naruto responded dryly, flashing a small smile at her.  His red eyes flashed in the sunlight, and one of his fangs was visible before his grin faded.  “From what you and Kakashi-sensei told me, there would have been a lot of ANBU and chuunin that saw me transform, and now I look like this.  And there’s always the fact that–”

“You didn’t kill anybody,” Sasuke interjected evenly before Naruto could finish.  “The collateral damage was unfortunate, but it was unavoidable.”  He cast his friend a sharp look, though it only earned him a shrug in return.  “Even if they don’t get it, you should know that there would have been a lot more casualties if Kurama hadn’t gotten Shukaku away.”

**_It’s terribly flattering how your acquaintances refer so casually to the Kyuubi no Kitsune,_** the Fox drawled.

_Hey, it’s better than having to say ‘Kyuubi’ or ‘the Fox’ all the time.  And if you missed it, Sasuke basically just_ thanked _you._   Naruto received only a low, dissatisfied growl in response.  “I know that.  It’s just . . . hard to blame them for not liking me now.  Before they didn’t have a real reason, but . . . .” He shook his head and shrugged again.  “Even if it was the only option, people died – citizens of Konoha died, and to them it looks like it was me who did it.”

“It’s not fair,” Hinata insisted, her brow knitted in concern.  “The Hokage made it clear to everybody what happened, and even that you – I mean, Kurama-sama – saved his life by destroying the tower.”

“What’s right, fairness . . .” Naruto waved his free hand, shaking his head tiredly.  “Doesn’t matter.  I don’t want to talk about it.”  He knew that his friends wanted to protest, but he was thankful when they allowed the conversation to lapse into silence.  There were enough things to think about without having to worry over what the villagers thought of him.  If the Sandaime and those close to him believed in him, then that was enough.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Sarutobi Hiruzen was an old man, but Naruto had never realized that fully until now.  Team Seven and Haku stood in front of the Hokage’s desk, all facing the village leader with carefully neutral expressions.  The Sandaime was leaning back in his chair, examining his guests thoughtfully with the slightest smile tugging at the corners of his lips.  His left eye was covered with bandages, as were his neck and right arm.  The lines of his face seemed deeper than before, and there was a dark circle under his visible eye that told of recent restless nights.

“Thank you for coming, Team Seven.  And you as well, Haku,” he began serenely, nodding to them as they bowed in response to his greeting.  “Kakashi has already submitted his report regarding your actions during the invasion of Konoha.  I wanted to thank you personally for not only showing exceptional prowess in battle, but especially for saving countless lives in defeating the Ichibi.  You have displayed ability beyond your years, and you have proven beyond any doubt your loyalty to Konohagakure – _all_ of you.” His eye twinkled as he gave Haku a brief smile; the boy flushed lightly and bowed.  Naruto forced himself not to fidget or speak up, but he knew the last part had been meant for him as well.

“Your acknowledgement is humbling, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi began formally.  “I have never been more proud of my students.”

“Do not think that just because you omitted it in your report that I do not know why I am alive today, Kakashi,” Hiruzen chuckled.  “If not for your request of the Kyuubi, I may have died at Orochimaru’s hands.  And I must not forget to thank you as well, Kyuubi no Kitsune.”  The Hokage spoke just as calmly as before, but as his intense gaze met Naruto’s eyes it felt like the old man was looking _into_ him.  There was no fear or judgment in his dark eyes, only gratitude and sincerity.

**_You may tell him that his gratitude is accepted._**   If Naruto didn’t know any better he would have sworn that Kurama was _purring_.

“The Kyuubi appreciates your thanks,” Naruto relayed with another bow.  “But I wouldn’t flatter him too much; he’s still a jerk.”  The Hokage blinked in surprise, and the others trained their features carefully not to betray any amusement at the remark.  Hiruzen, however, let out an uncharacteristic laugh that lasted for several seconds, and his audience finally allowed themselves to loosen up and grin.

“One can always leave it to Naruto to brighten a conversation,” he said after a few mild coughs, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.  “Perhaps the Kyuubi is a malign individual; you would know best, after all.  But by his will Konoha is safe, and that deserves gratitude regardless of temperament.”

“I guess so,” Naruto shrugged, though he couldn’t help but smirk.

**_And you call_ me _asinine._**

“Well, now that we are a bit more relaxed, I would like to get on with the purpose of this debriefing.”  Their expressions sobered at once, and even the Hokage’s normally placidity turned into seriousness.  “The official death toll amounted to three hundred and forty-eight men, women, and children.  Less than half were shinobi that perished in the line of duty; most were civilians, killed by Shukaku, enemy ninja, or the snake summons.  Jiraiya defeated the latter before it could get too far into the city, and once the Ichibi had been expulsed the Sand and Sound forces retreated or surrendered quickly.

“My fight with Orochimaru ended when the Kyuubi collapsed the tower.  The four Oto-nin and my former student were gone before the first stone hit the ground; I expect they did not like the odds of engaging the Hokage with several ANBU squads and a jinchuuriki to back him up.  That leads me to you first, Naruto.”  He settled his eye on the blond in front of him before continuing, speaking very deliberately.  “As I understand it, you would be dead if not for the choice to allow the Fox to surface.  However, despite that choice saving your life and many others, it may have put your life in greater jeopardy.”

“Sir?” Naruto asked, confused.  The Hokage was quiet for a time, and the silence only made Naruto all the more disconcerted.

“We do not know much,” the Sandaime began slowly, as if considering every word with great care.  “But what information we do have you have a right to know, as do those close to you.  I must require, however, that you disclose what I am about to tell you to no one.  Am I clear?”  Each of them – even Kakashi – nodded, and after another brief moment of hesitation Hiruzen continued.  “Jiraiya has spent the last few years on what might be considered an extended mission, one I consider to be beyond S-rank in gravity.  He has been tracking Orochimaru’s movements, and through that task he has been gathering information on a certain group that has recently risen from the shadows.”  Hiruzen looked pointedly to Kakashi, who narrowed his eye before finishing the thought.

“Akatsuki,” the jounin said quietly.

“That is the name they go by,” the Sandaime confirmed, his expression grave.  “They are an organization now made up of nine extremely powerful S-rank shinobi, as it seems Orochimaru left their ranks not long ago.  According to Jiraiya’s intelligence, the members of Akatsuki recently split up into teams of two, and have begun traveling around collecting techniques, and possibly other more valuable things.”

“Ano . . .” Naruto began hesitantly, his mind racing with questions.  “That all sounds . . . Well, it sounds really serious, but what does it have to do with me?”

“We have no means of proving it just yet, but Jiraiya suspects that they may be after the bijuu, and subsequently their jinchuuriki.”  Naruto balked and paled at that, and he could feel Kurama bristling already.  “That is nearly the extent of what we know or assume.  I expect Jiraiya will have more to say to you on the matter later, but for now at least you know the possibilities.”  The blond boy nodded tightly, saving his many unspoken thoughts for later.

“Sasuke, there is something of the Akatsuki that concerns you as well.  You will discover it eventually, but I would rather you hear it from me than for you to find out on your own.” Hiruzen turned his eye on the young Uchiha, and his features seemed to soften a little.  Sasuke tensed and clenched his fists, but he kept his stoic façade.  “Itachi is one of the members of Akatsuki.”  Sasuke’s Sharingan activated of its own accord.  His blood turned to ice in his veins, but it was boiling a breath later.  His mask broke into an open snarl, and he all but spat out his next statement.

“Does Jiraiya know where he is?”

“No,” Hiruzen replied immediately in a steely tone, as if he had anticipated Sasuke’s response.  “Even if his location was known it would not be revealed to anyone under any circumstance.  You know what he is capable of better than most; would you throw your life away engaging him now?”  Sasuke took a step back as if physically struck, and it was then that he noticed Haku’s hand on his shoulder.  The Hokage gave the boy an appreciative, grandfatherly smile.  “I know that you seek retribution for your clan, Sasuke, and I do not have the right to stop you from obtaining it.  But I do have a responsibility as the one that has given you this information to make certain you use it as a caution, and not as an incitation.”

“I . . .” Sasuke started, struggling to control his emotions.  “I understand, Hokage-sama.  I appreciate your concern, but I know my limitations, and I’ve already given my word to go after Itachi the right way at the right time.”  Naruto grinned and nodded with Hinata, and Haku gave Sasuke’s shoulder a light squeeze before lowering his arm.

“Hinata, I understand that Hiashi has asked you to return to the Hyuuga clan.”  Hinata stiffened and nodded.  The old man smiled and inclined his head in what could only be a measure of thanks.  “It seems that your actions – and those of all of Team Seven – have changed Hiashi’s outlook.  I was informed recently that he is even considering changing a few of the clan’s laws regarding the Branch family.”  Hinata allowed her astonishment to show for only a moment before her features smoothed over again.  She bowed before speaking, her voice clear and respectful.

“I am pleased to hear it, Hokage-sama, and it is true that I have been invited to reassume the role of heiress.  I’m afraid that my role in swaying his opinion was minimal, however.”

“Kakashi,” the Sandaime said amusedly, shaking his head, “Are you teaching your students to be as neglectful of their own accomplishments as you can be?”

“Hinata is always as modest, Hokage-sama.  I assure you that neither Naruto nor Sasuke lack any amount of ego to make up for her humility.”  Haku had to suppress a giggle at the man’s words, and Hinata immediately flushed bright red.  The two boys in question each gave their sensei a level look before turning back to Hiruzen with flat expressions, though Naruto at least seemed a little embarrassed.

“A balanced team is important,” the Hokage said with a light chuckle.  “In any case, I do hope you decide on your own what you will do.  Always do what is in your best interest, and never forget that – in all likelihood – you are the only one that knows what that is.”  He had to hide a knowing smile when the young Hyuuga’s eyes flicked to Naruto.  “Although I’m sure your friends are pretty close.”  Hinata couldn’t help but give a demure smile at the old man’s advice.

“I’ve heard that a certain young man evacuated the majority of the villagers from the arena last week,” he said mildly, finally turning his gaze to Haku.  “And that his means of doing so were fairly creative.”  Naruto and Hinata looked over at Haku curiously, though Sasuke only smirked and kept his eyes forward.  “Tell me, Haku: how did you come up with that idea?”

“Hokage-sama,” Haku started, bowing deeply.  “The spectating area was very far from the ground level, and I determined that it would take far too long to guide the villagers down the many flights of stairs while also ensuring their safety.  I decided the most efficient means would be to craft a broad, closed chute of ice that lead down from the southern end, and would serve not only as an expedient exit but also as a protection against potential attackers.  Its gradient was appropriately adjusted for a gentle descent,” he added at the end, looking a touch embarrassed.

“Sound reasoning,” Hiruzen nodded, smiling warmly at the boy.  “And thanks to your actions the villagers were indeed evacuated in a safe, timely fashion.  Tell me, though: if you did not possess your kekkei genkai, how would you have managed your task?”

“I would have created clones at a ratio of one to every ten villagers and escorted them through the tunnels of the arena.  My chakra capacity has increased in my time spent training with Team Seven, and I believe I could have managed that many in addition to more to guard our front and rear.”  Haku’s response was immediate, as if he had gone through the scenario in his mind already.  Hiruzen nearly spoke again to commend him for his forethought before the boy continued.  “Another option would have been to use an earth technique to modify the exterior wall of the arena, detaching a section and creating a ramp for everybody to proceed down.”  Even Kakashi turned to blink at Haku; clearly they hadn’t been through his thought process on the matter.  “I decided quickly that those two options would either have been too time consuming or vulnerable to an enemy assault.  The latter especially would have required me to modify the Wave of Earth jutsu on the fly, and even had I managed it the villagers would have been exposed on their way out.  Using my bloodline ability proved to be the best option for security, practicality, and swiftness.”  Haku took in a deep breath, nodding once at the bewildered Hokage.  “I hope my reasoning was sound, Hokage-sama.”

“Quite,” the Sandaime murmured, taking a moment to reach beneath his desk and withdraw his long pipe.  Smoke rose from the bowl at the end, although nobody had seen him light it before taking a slow draw.  “Well, Kakashi,” Hiruzen said calmly, reaching into his desk once again.  “I think it’s fair to say that Haku has proven himself enough, don’t you think?”  He placed a plain wooden case on the tabletop, sliding it forward reverently.  “May you serve Konohagakure well, Haku.”  The boy looked confused as he regarded the box, and he glanced questioningly over at Kakashi a second later.

“Go ahead,” the jounin said with a nod towards the box.  “It’s a gift.”

“A gift from the Hokage . . .?” He stepped forward, carefully lifting the lid of the container.  Hinata gasped as he revealed what was inside, and both Naruto and Sasuke grinned.  “This is . . .”

“A Leaf hitai-ate,” Hiruzen confirmed, his eye twinkling as he spoke.  “Your altered sentence allowed for you to become a full-fledged Konoha shinobi, pending Kakashi’s recommendation and my acceptance.  If you recall, my advisor – Koharu – wished you to become useful to our village eventually.  I believe you have proven yourself, and you have grown considerably since arriving here.”

Haku didn’t speak for a moment.  He stared at the shining metal plate of his new forehead protector, tracing the engraving of the Leaf symbol.  He had been accepted – trusted.  It was almost too overwhelming to think about, but he managed to keep his expression solemn as he lifted and tied the hitai-ate in place.  The familiar feeling of a forehead protector was something he had missed; it felt like coming home after a long time away.  He stepped back and bowed again, his voice thick when he finally managed to get his words out.

“Thank you, Hokage-sama.  It is an honor to be of use to Konohagakure.”

“Of use . . .” Hiruzen mused, nodding.  “Yes, I suppose; all shinobi should be useful, Haku.  But that is a sign that you are a friend and ally of our village, and that you will fight to protect it.  It is a token signifying that you are willing to take on the Will of Fire.  Can you – _will_ you do this, Haku?”  The boy couldn’t respond beyond a tight nod, not trusting his voice.  The Sandaime smiled and inclined his head, allowing a few moments of silence.

“Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, Haku – I thank you again for your service to the village.  I look forward to seeing you grow to be even stronger as a team.”  They all bowed in unison, eliciting a small smile from the old man.  “You four are dismissed; I have a few things to discuss with Kakashi before I can let him go.”

“North wall,” Kakashi said as his subordinates turned to depart.  “I’ll join you there shortly.”  None of them spoke as they left the room, though he expected a wide range of conversation to start up soon.  The Hokage had touched on a great many things, and they had been taken on quite the emotional ride.

“Do you have any recommendations for Haku’s new station?” Hiruzen asked after the others had gone.

“He used to be a member of Kirigakure’s hunter-nin unit before defecting with Zabuza.  I believe he would work well in one of our ANBU divisions, or even as a chuunin team leader.”

“Mm . . . Danzo has asked that he be admitted to Root.  I told him – quite firmly – that Haku’s assignment would be left up to you.”  Hiruzen watched for Kakashi to betray his feelings, but as expected the jounin had perfect control of his expression.

“I do not think that wise,” Kakashi said simply.  “My recommendation would be for him to initially be assigned as a Tokubetsu Jounin.”

“Oh?  Why is that?” the Hokage asked mildly, though his calm expression implied that he already knew the answer Kakashi would give.

“His skillset makes him ideal as a future ANBU assassin.  His speed, intelligence, and ability with ninjutsu are unmatched for a child his age, and his kekkei genkai gives him an edge no other shinobi would have in combat.  I believe the rank fits, and it would allow him to become my subordinate.  As a former member of Konoha’s ANBU, I can train him before you officially invite him into the ranks.  That is, if you approve of the assignment.”

“I agree.  I will fill out the appropriate paperwork; have him come by later this afternoon to get his picture taken and identification in order.”  Kakashi bowed in acknowledgement, and when he straightened again the Hokage’s expression had become severe.  “That aside, what I said to Naruto is no small matter; I understand that Jiraiya has spoken to you about Akatsuki, so you know well how dangerous they are.  I do not believe they are audacious enough to do any more than gather information within our city, but–”

“You think they are or have been here already?” Kakashi cut in sharply, forgetting himself for a moment.

“I do.  I believe that if given the opportunity they will take Naruto, or perhaps one of his friends to get to him.”  Kakashi’s eye narrowed, and Hiruzen was both surprised and comforted to see the protective look.  “Jiraiya is considering taking the boy under his wing for the time being.”

“Isn’t he supposed to be going to look for Tsunade?” Kakashi asked, working to keep the concern from his tone.

“Yes, but I can’t think of a person that Naruto would be safer with than Jiraiya.  That aside, he has the right as the boy’s godfather.”  Kakashi gave a begrudging nod; no matter how skilled he was as a shinobi, even he didn’t come close to one of the Sannin.  “He believes that Naruto might be able to help convince Tsunade to come take my place as Hokage; she can be . . . very stubborn at times.”

“Naruto does have an odd way of getting people to believe in him,” Kakashi admitted.  “At least, people that don’t carry an unreasonable disposition towards him already.”  Hiruzen frowned and shook his head, looking just as old and tired as he had at the beginning of their meeting.

“I will leave the decision to Jiraiya.  If Naruto does leave with him, you have my permission to have Haku serve on Team Seven while he is away.  He is in more of a hurry than I am to see me retire finally, so you will hear from him within a few days I’m sure.”  He gave a dry chuckle and sighed, sinking back into his chair.

“As you wish, Hokage-sama.  Was there anything else you needed to speak with me about?”

“That was all from me, Kakashi.  Although,” he continued as Kakashi bowed, “Asuma wanted me to pass along his thanks to Naruto; apparently his team has been training especially hard lately because of something your student said to Shikamaru during the Chuunin Exam.”  Kakashi raised an eyebrow, and Hiruzen shrugged.  “I’m not sure of the details myself.  I’ve had similar reports from Kurenai as well.”

“I see.  I will be sure to let him know.  Has there been a decision regarding the exam?”

“The examiners all agreed that both Naruto and Sasuke possessed more than adequate strength to become chuunin, but the test was . . . interrupted too early to make any sound judgment regarding their intelligence and decision making ability.  It was decided that a new selection exam will be set up in two months following repairs to the village; the other countries were ‘gracious’ enough to allow us to host it again.”  The Hokage tried to keep his tone mild, but he didn’t manage to keep all of the annoyance from his voice.  “Needless to say, it will be on a much smaller scale without participating members from the Sand and Sound.”

“That seems reasonable enough,” Kakashi said before bowing one last time.  “Thank you, Hokage-sama.”

Hiruzen sat facing the window, puffing thoughtfully on his pipe long after Kakashi had departed.  His body ached, and he wanted nothing more than to go back to bed.  _I suppose Koharu and Homura were right to convince me to choose a successor.  I can only hope that Tsunade will come back._   He sighed, closing his eyes for a few seconds before turning back to his desk, and the proverbial mountain of paperwork he had to do before the day was out.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“I made sure to tell them to wear their normal clothes,” Kakashi assured Iruka.  The chuunin sighed in relief, donning a sheepish grin just after.

“Good, because I don’t think I’d survive being outdone by my former students again.”  They were standing just outside the door to Yakiniku Q, exchanging idle chatter in the gathering dusk.  It had been another long day of cleaning up rubble and breaking down debris, but with the section near the north wall complete the task was nearly finished.  “Those four are a force to be reckoned with,” Iruka said with a shake of his head.  “Naruto’s multitude of clones is more help than anybody could ask for, but now that Hinata and Sasuke can make a few themselves it’s like we’ve got a miniature army for a cleanup crew.”

“It does appear that way sometimes, but the others can’t be forgotten either.  Haku can freeze and shatter large bits of debris to make it more manageable, Chouji is perfect for moving around the bigger items with his expansion jutsu, Sakura has been pretty adept and demolishing irrecoverable structures; this list goes on.”  Iruka smiled and nodded, though Kakashi’s humility for the sake of his team couldn’t alter the chuunin’s focus.

“I know, I know, but you’ve worked closely with those three over the last few months.  You know better than anyone how much they’ve grown in such a short time.”

“That I won’t deny.  They’re . . . I don’t really know.  I’ve never seen genin – much less an entire team – so driven.”

“I suppose that’s what happens when you’re as close as those three are,” Iruka said with a small laugh.  “Speaking of closeness, have you noticed anything odd about Naruto and Hinata lately?  I can’t really put my finger on it, but their behavior has changed since last week.  I suppose that’s to be expected, though, since the attack . . .” Kakashi blinked owlishly at him for a few seconds before smirking, a bit of mischief in his eye.

“You have absolutely no clue that they’re dating, do you?” The jounin watched with no small amount of amusement as Iruka’s expression changed.  His eyes first went wide, then narrowed in thought, before finally settling on annoyed confusion.

“Since when?  And why wouldn’t they tell me about it?” he huffed, folding his arms and scowling.

“Since after Naruto woke up in the hospital, if I had to guess.”  Kakashi shrugged, still grinning beneath his mask.  “They’ve been going off together when they think nobody will notice, doing _who knows what_.”  Iruka’s mouth worked for a response, but Kakashi continued before he could get a word out.  “And Naruto’s become like your son, Iruka; do you really think children naturally tell their parents things like that?  The only reason I know is because I spend a great deal more time with them.”

“But they sleep together!” Iruka blurted out, pausing a moment later to cover his mouth and turn several shades of red.  “I-I mean, not like that!  They fall asleep on the sofa together, and I thought it was just cute – cute!”

“It _is_ cute, Iruka,” Kakashi sighed, waving a hand.  “They’re not even thirteen yet; they’ve still got another two or three years before you need to be worrying over that.  Just be glad this isn’t the Hidden Sound – I hear they start having kids by sixteen or so.”  Surprisingly, Iruka sobered rather than becoming more flustered.  He shrugged and rubbed at the back of his head, staying quiet for a time before speaking up again.

“I guess that is the world we live in,” he said finally.  “The higher chance one has of dying young, the more the motivation.  This is the fate of shinobi, I suppose.  Still, I’d feel better if I talked to them about it.”

“That’s your prerogative as their guardian,” Kakashi said lightly, still a touch amused by what he had just learned about his students.  “But I’d save it for when you get home, and two extras aren’t standing behind you.”  Iruka had time only to raise a questioning eyebrow before Naruto’s voice piped up.

“What’re you talking about?” he probed immediately, wondering why Iruka’s face was so red.  He was standing hand-in-hand with Hinata, of course, with Sasuke and Haku standing to his other side.

“Ah, what we’re going to order for dinner,” Iruka explained lamely, earning him a snort from Sasuke and a snicker from Haku.  Naruto only rolled his eyes.

“Okay, okay, whatever.  Let’s celebrate!  I bet everybody else is already here!”  Kakashi nodded and turned to lead the way in, followed by his subordinates.  Iruka watched after them for a moment, sighed, then shook his head as he followed.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“A toast!” Gai veritably roared, his cheeks flushed deeply.  He had been drinking far too much sake over the course of the evening’s meal, and was now standing with one foot on the table and the other on his chair.  “A toast to my eternal rival Hatake Kakashi!  And to his team, of course,” he finished with a hiccough, giving Team Seven an exaggerated wink before downing his saucer of alcohol.  “Chyah!  Waiter!  More sake please!”

“I think you’ve had enough, sensei,” Tenten muttered as she helped him slide back to his seat.  She glanced apologetically across the table to Kakashi and Iruka’s party of six.  “I did warn you all about this.”

“As long as he’s having fun,” Naruto laughed.  “I’m glad we decided to have a party.”

“Everybody does seem to be enjoying themselves,” Sasuke mused, sounding only marginally less bored than usual.  Their former classmates were seated all around them down the long table, creating quite the ruckus within the restaurant.  Team Eight was at the far end with Kurenai, engaged in an argument with Asuma’s team over the quality of the barbeque pork.  At least, most of them were going at it; Shino and Shikamaru seemed content to play a quiet game of shogi on a travel set that the Nara boy liked to carry around.  Asuma and Kurenai sat beside one another, chatting amiably and blushing far more often than anybody noticed.

“Did Neji-niisan have a prior commitment?” Hinata asked Lee from across the table.  She knew what the answer would be before the boy even shook his head.

“He said he would rather train,” Lee shrugged.  “Neji has been dedicating far more time to his training than usual, and I can’t fault him for that.  Gai-sensei says that he is taking charge of his youth and learning from his mistakes.”

“I see,” she responded worriedly, but her concern lessened considerably as Naruto’s hand took hers beneath the table.  He didn’t say anything; in fact, anything he might have offered would have likely been a negative remark towards her cousin.  But the simple comfort of his presence helped assuage some of her anxiety.

“An _actual_ toast,” Kakashi started, tapping his chopsticks loudly enough against his plate that their gathered friends quieted.  He stood and looked around, making sure to catch every one of the genin’s eyes before continuing.  “A toast to friends and family lost, and a toast to life.”  Every person present – even the young ones – solemnly lifted their saucers of sake, taking a reverent sip before setting it down.

“To Konohagakure and its resilience,” Kurenai proposed.

“To the Will of Fire,” Asuma added.

“To youth!” Lee cried, his eyes already half-lidded as he swayed dangerously in his seat.

“To friends, and love,” Tenten put in with a warm smile and a none-too secretive wink at Hinata and Naruto.  The couple blushed together, but drank a little more enthusiastically to that.

Murmurs of agreement rose with every tribute, followed by a brief moment of silence.  Finally, after it appeared that no further acknowledgements would be offered, Iruka stood up and raised his drink.

“To the Konoha Twelve,” he said with a proud smile, “My former students – and our new addition.”  Iruka smiled and nodded at Haku, who was still wearing his new hitai-ate.  The boy flushed and beamed up at him, though before everybody could drink he went on with the toast.  “To you all – the future of our village – for your bravery and camaraderie in the face of a great crisis.  May you grow and fight together, and always support one another as you have.”  A round of cheers rose from the table, and the last of the sake was drained to Iruka’s praise.  He sat down flustered but glowing, observing the young shinobi he had spent half a decade mentoring.  They ranged the spectrum of joy, from the very reserved Shino giving a firm nod to Lee nearly breaking the table as he leapt upon it in his zeal.

_I’m proud to have been your instructor._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“I’m pretty sure Gai-sensei will have to pay for the damages,” Naruto said as he closed the door to their apartment.  “I had no idea Lee could fight like that, though.”

“I don’t care _how_ he fought,” Iruka sighed, sinking into the chair opposite the couch.  “Gai shouldn’t have accepted Lee’s ‘youthful challenge’.  It’ll be a week before they repair the damage to the restaurant.”

“At least it was as everybody was leaving,” Hinata offered, suppressing a giggle.  Iruka couldn’t help but smile, though when his eyes fell on their linked hands he remembered that he still had something to do.  It was late, but he knew that if he put it off that he wouldn’t have the gumption to do it later.

“Do you two have a minute to talk?” Naruto cocked his head to one side, as if trying to figure out what Iruka’s tone implied.  He shrugged and nodded, as did Hinata, and they moved to the couch together.

“Sure, Iruka-sensei.  What’s up?” the blond asked tentatively.  Usually when Iruka wanted to discuss something casual he just brought it up.  Asking them for a conversation was indicative that this would not be one of those times.

_I’m an adult, and as of now I’m responsible for them.  It’s my duty. I can do this no problem._ “Sex – we ah . . . need to talk about it.”  _Nailed it._   Hinata and Naruto both blinked once, then stared at him.  It took several seconds for the color in their faces to surpass that in their mentor’s, but in moments the pair was so red that Iruka was pretty sure they had created a new hue.

“I-Iruka-sensei!” Naruto blurted out finally.  “Why do we need to talk about that?!”

“Because you two are dating now, and things happen,” Iruka shrugged, calming down a little.  His two charges were carefully avoiding eye contact with one another, and he hadn’t even seen their hands return to their own laps.  “I know you’re still young, but it’s better to get this out of the way early on.  Besides, it’s not like it’s weird or an anathema.”

“Anathe-what?”

“Something frowned on,” Hinata murmured.

“Oh, right.  But – I mean, we’re only twelve,” Naruto protested, trying to find a way out of what he knew would be the most awkward conversation of his life.  “Isn’t that stuff for adults?”

“You may be young, but you _are_ adults,” the chuunin said calmly, pointing to his forehead protector.  “You were adults from the moment you received these.  Don’t you think it’d be a little weird if you were allowed to die for your village, but not allowed to . . . Ah, to love somebody like that?”

“Wait, we’re _allowed_ to do that?” Naruto asked incredulously, wrinkling his nose and making a face that was somewhere between disbelieving and disgusted.

_Damnit, not what I meant._   “No!  Well I mean yes, technically, but no!” They both looked equal parts mortified and confused.  Iruka sighed, rubbing at his temples.  This was much more difficult than he had imagined it would be, and he had thought it would be terrible.  “Look, when you graduate the academy you are considered adults in the eyes of the village, which means you can legally act on your own.  You can sign contracts yourself, buy property, go outside the village – anything that a normal adult can do.  And yes, that includes _that_ too.  Normally a child is under their parents’ rule and protection until sixteen, but shinobi are a little different.  Again, if you’re permitted to die for your village, it stands to reason that you can have other adult responsibilities.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Naruto agreed begrudgingly, though he still looked uncomfortable.  Hinata was switching between smoothing her skirt and fidgeting with the bracer on her arm, though Iruka knew that she was listening because her cheeks colored more as he spoke.

“So instead of treating you like children in this matter, we’re going to just talk about it plainly, alright?  It’s not taboo, it’s not embarrassing, and it’s not strange.  It’s just a part of life that needs to be discussed openly.  Ask me any questions you have about anything I talk about, okay?”  Both of them still looked fairly uncomfortable, but they nodded all the same and listened as Iruka started.

Surprisingly enough to all parties involved, the conversation quickly became more relaxed and comfortable.  Naruto and Hinata seemed to take to heart his assurances, and even asked a few tentative questions here and there.  Nobody was blushing anymore as Iruka wrapped up the talk, though the young couple was still avoiding eye contact as much as possible.

“Lastly,” Iruka said after nearly an hour had gone by, “Try to be a little more careful about putting yourselves in that kind of situation, alright?  I know you two fall asleep together a lot while you’re up talking, and I don’t want to discourage spending time together, but just be aware of those temptations later on when you might not be ready for them.”

“Yes, sensei,” they said together, both smiling sheepishly.

“Good,” Iruka sighed after a good stretch.  “I guess this is a good chance to mention two other things, though the first is a question for you, Hinata.”  The girl blinked at him, prompting him to continue.  “Have you decided what to do about Hiashi’s proposal?”

“I . . .” Hinata began, glancing quickly at Naruto.  “I have, I think.  I believe my father is sincere, and I would like to accept his offer as far as becoming the heiress to the clan again.  But . . .” She hesitated, and it wasn’t until Naruto took her hand again that she kept going.  “I don’t think I’m ready to move back to the compound just yet.  I was considering getting my own apartment; I know you’ve said that I can stay as long as I need to, but this is your home, sensei.  And I think Naruto should have his room back,” she finished with a slight flush.  Iruka grinned and shook his head.

“Hinata, this isn’t just my home.  It’s _our_ home.  Besides, even though I tell you not to, you still pay me for rent, you help clean and cook, and you keep Naruto out of trouble.  What more could I ask from a guest?” Hinata blushed and giggled, and Naruto scowled half-heartedly.  “But that does lead me to my next topic.  My pay was raised recently, and with both you and Naruto making quite the sum of ryo from missions I was considering moving to a new apartment with an additional bedroom.  You’re welcome to come with us if you’d like, and then you could both have your own room.”  Naruto grinned, though he had to keep himself from expressing his desires aloud.  This had to be Hinata’s decision, and even if he wanted her to keep living with them it might not be ‘in her best interest’, in the Hokage’s words.

“I’d like that,” she said after a short pause, inclining her head to Iruka.  It took a considerable effort to hold back her tears.  _Our home . . ._ She was being given the chance to continue living near Naruto, and in so many words she was being accepted into their small family.  It was far from the family she had been born into, but it was the family that had taken her in when she had been alone, and it was the one she would choose over any other.

“It’s settled then,” Iruka said happily, standing with another stretch.  “We’ll all go out to look for apartments together starting next week.  Try to get to sleep soon,” he continued as he reached the living room’s threshold.  “Kakashi said that you have some new training starting tomorrow morning.”

“We will,” Naruto assured him.  Iruka lingered in the doorway for only a moment before smiling and moving off down the hallway.  The door to his room clicked shut a few seconds later, leaving Hinata and Naruto sitting in silence for several minutes.  It was a comfortable quiet, with both of them simultaneously enjoying each other’s presence and deep in their own thoughts.  It wasn’t until Naruto yawned that Hinata broke the silence.

“I guess I should be getting to bed,” she said slowly, giving Naruto’s hand a squeeze before rising.  “Iruka-sensei said to avoid these kinds of situations, right?”  She smiled mischievously and tapped her nose, pretending that she didn’t notice Naruto’s grumble as she strode across the room.

“I _guess_ ,” Naruto said with an exaggerated sigh.  “I still think it’s really weird that he wanted to talk to us about that.  I mean, you don’t ever think about that stuff, do you?”

“N-no!” Hinata quickly switched off the light to hide her blush, though she stopped before exiting the room to glance back into the dimness.  She could still see Naruto’s vague silhouette, but his eyes shone far too bright for the modicum of light coming from the hallway.  Hinata had looked into those eyes many times over the last week, and only recently did her mind stop going back to the Kyuubi’s crimson irises when she saw Naruto’s.  She pursed her lips and turned back on an impulse, rushing over to the sofa and throwing her arms around his neck.  Naruto was taken by surprise and toppled sideways, though he managed to get his arms around her waist before his back hit the cushions.

“Didn’t you just say something about ‘these kinds of situations?’” Naruto teased.  His vision adjusted quickly to the darkness, and he watched as Hinata pulled her head back and clicked her tongue quietly.  Her ponytail had fallen over one shoulder and now trailed by his collar bone, sending a shiver up his spine.

“I’ll go to bed soon,” Hinata said softly, her lips so close that he could feel them move when she spoke.  “I just wanted to talk first.”

They ‘talked’ for nearly fifteen minutes before separating, which only happened due to their need to breathe.  They lay facing one another for a time, Naruto with a hand on Hinata’s hip while she lay curled against his chest.  Their eyes were closed, and before long both were breathing deeply.  Neither of them realized that sleep was quickly taking hold, and before long the beginnings of dreams began to creep into their fading consciousness.  That is, until they both twitched and bolted upright at the same time.

“What–”

“Who–”

They each stared into empty space, their breath coming quicker and quicker.

“Hinata,” Naruto started, heat rising in his cheeks.  “Did you ever release that last clone?”

“N-no,” she stuttered.  “Did you?”  Her head was spinning, but she knew that the lightheadedness had little to do with the returning memories from her bunshin.

“No . . . Were they . . . This whole time?”

“I think so,” Hinata responded faintly, her thought process failing her completely.  The memories settled after several long seconds of the most furious embarrassment she had ever experienced, leaving an all too clear picture of what had been going on between their clones for the last twelve hours.  “Oh,” she started, unable to think of anything to say.  “Oh.”

“Uh . . . Maybe sleep was a good idea after all,” Naruto said hoarsely, twiddling his thumbs.

“Yes, definitely a good idea.” Hinata all but fell off of the couch in her hurry, bolting out of the door and to her room in the blink of an eye.  He heard a flustered ‘Goodnight!’ whispered from down the hall just before the door to her room snapped shut.  Naruto was left staring after her for a long while, speechless.  He wasn’t quite sure when he fell asleep, but he remembered thinking about swearing off of Shadow Clones until much, _much_ later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks.
> 
> I hope I made the ‘filler’ chapter enjoyable enough. Just wanted to write something fun while also introducing important future plot elements. And I promise I didn’t forget about Sasuke’s curse mark/Orochimaru/Sound Four; I just had other things to set up first! And fluff to write. I like fluff. D:
> 
> Note about Haku’s past: it’s not explained anywhere what happened between Zabuza finding Haku and them encountering Team Seven for the first time. So I made up some back story involving Zabuza finding and training Haku, getting him into Kiri’s ANBU as a spy for his future coup d’état, then running together when it goes south. 
> 
> Thank you Rhi for the dedicated beta work, and to all of you who’ve read this far (or for whatever reason only read this chapter; I still love you). Reviews are appreciated as always, good or bad, as long as there’s a solid constructive element!
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> \- Wes


	19. Of Things Sentimental

“So you’ve decided to take him along, then,” Kakashi said evenly as he watched his team train with an unreadable expression.

“Aye,” Jiraiya replied.  “It may be unfair of me, but Naruto bears a resemblance to Tsunade’s lost brother, Nawaki.  At least, he does in spirit.  I think having him along may help persuade her.”

“I see.”  The only display of unease that Kakashi allowed was a shifting of his weight, disguised as him finding a more comfortable place to lean his back against the tree they shared.  It was another sunny morning, instilled with a cool breeze that signaled the coming of autumn.  The leaves of the trees surrounding the third training ground were beginning to display a myriad of warm colors as well.  None of the scenery interested the younger jounin, however, and instead he focused carefully on his students.  “Again,” he called.

“Genjutsu: Binding,” Hinata murmured, focusing on Naruto and Sasuke.  A breath later they stood completely still in front of her, frozen by the technique.  Sasuke relaxed after a moment, stretching to show that he was free of the ability, but Naruto remained motionless.

 _Kakashi-sensei wasn’t joking when he said that genjutsu was hard to break without a hand seal,_ he ground out in his mind, struggling to disrupt his chakra flow and shake the technique.

 ** _It’s not that difficult,_** Kurama yawned.  **_Like Kakashi said: focus on your chakra flow, halt it for a split second, then release it in a burst of energy._**

 _I can’t see chakra flow like they can,_ he retorted.  _How am I supposed to visualize something that I’ve never seen?  And what does this have to do with the gates?_

 ** _You’ve seen diagrams in the academy.  Those gates limit the flow of chakra through your body.  If you stop the flow at any of the gates and release it, the genjutsu should break easily.  Figure it out._**  Naruto growled at the following silence, annoyed at how easily he was being incapacitated.  He turned inward for the umpteenth time.

 _Hinata said the Gate of Opening was the best one because it’s near the motor-thing in my brain.  Just have to concentrate on my chakra.  C’mon, you stupid gate._   An entire minute of straining yielded only sweat and frustration.  Hinata began to look concerned as Naruto’s face contorted, and he would have cursed if he had been able to.  _She’s about to undo it._

 ** _You’re hopeless,_** the Kyuubi sighed.  Just as Naruto was getting ready with an appropriately hostile remark, an orange spark flashed in his mind’s eye, illuminating a spectacular . . . something.  It lasted for the briefest instant, but the imparted image burned itself into his memory as if it were his own.  Naruto was now reflecting on a perfect representation of the chakra circulatory system inside of his own head, complete with the two major nodes containing the Gate of Opening and Gate of Rest.

_Whoa . . . Is that really what it looks like? Kinda looks like veins and stuff._

**_It’s called the chakra_ circulatory system _for a reason.  Do you try to be this ignorant, or does it just come naturally?_**

_Shut up,_ Naruto glowered.  _And thanks,_ he added with begrudged sincerity.  He focused on the three dimensional picture Kurama had provided, trying to gather his chakra at the Gate of Opening.  _Keep it there . . . Gather more chakra . . ._ All at once he forced his chakra to stop circulating, holding it for less than a second before releasing it in a ‘small’ burst.

The result was noticeable, to say the least.  Naruto’s onlookers took in a collective breath as an explosion of blue chakra erupted from the side of his head, throwing him off balance and sending him toppling to the ground.

“Ow,” he groaned, wincing as he put a hand to his throbbing head.  “Did it.”

“Probably gave yourself an aneurysm, too,” Sasuke smirked, offering a hand to help his friend up.  “I mean you did do it, but what happened?”

“Are you alright?” Hinata asked worriedly, likely afraid her genjutsu had been the cause of the mishap.

“I’m fine,” Naruto said with a sheepish grin.  “Just used too much chakra, as usual.  Kurama showed me a . . . Well, he showed me something.  I guess it was a picture of what my chakra circulatory system looks like.  It helped me visualize it better and block the flow at the gate.”

“Oh,” she responded, looking surprised and a touch guilty.  “I’m sorry; I never considered that you couldn’t see it like we can.”

“No big deal.  You guys may have special eyes, but I’ve got a grumpy fox in my head that helps out every once and a while.”  Naruto grinned, accepting Sasuke’s hand and pulling himself up.  Despite themselves, his friends smiled as well; the blond was never one to get down on himself, and he always found a way to keep up even without a kekkei genkai.

“Good,” Kakashi said as he strolled over beside Jiraiya.  “While not acceptable yet on your end, Naruto, still good.”  The boy couldn’t decide whether to scowl or beam.  “I’m going to do some more advanced genjutsu training with Sasuke and Hinata.  Jiraiya needs to speak with you.”

“You look like you need a good cure for a headache,” Jiraiya chortled.  “I’ll treat you to some ramen while we talk.”  Naruto’s features lit up for a moment, though he sobered quickly when he realized what was coming.  Kakashi had told him that the Sannin was likely going to talk to him this week, but the topic of discussion had remained a mystery.  It had only been four days since then, and Naruto had a feeling the news wouldn’t be good.

“Alright,” he shrugged, turning to follow the man out of the clearing.  He flashed a smile back at his friends before disappearing beyond the tree line.

“Remember what we did yesterday?” Kakashi started mildly, waiting for his two remaining students to nod.  “We’re going to do it again, only this time I’m going to use it on both of you.”

“But how–” Hinata began.

“I’m not going to let you seriously injure one another.  If you can’t break out of it on your own before things get out of hand, I’ll cancel it myself.  Remember: this is a very powerful forbidden jutsu.  If you can free yourselves of this, you’ll be safe from all but the most advanced techniques.  Ready?”  Sasuke’s expression turned stony, and Hinata’s concern seemed to evaporate as she took on a similar demeanor.  Kakashi nodded, bringing his hands together into a dragon seal and muttering, “Magen: Insanity.”

Both genin’s bodies went rigid for a few seconds, their eyes widening before they shuddered and became very still.  Without warning Sasuke whirled and launched a blast of fire at Hinata, who spun to one side even as several of her kunai were flying towards her new adversary.  The Uchiha leapt back, but the explosive tags attached to the knives went off and sent him flying away.  He growled and flipped in mid-air, launching two fists of shuriken just before landing.  Hinata’s palms moved like lightning, deflecting the projectiles with pinpoint bursts of chakra.  They clashed again a moment later, fighting against each other just as hard as they were trying to break themselves of the terrible genjutsu.  It would be another long morning.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Naruto stared down at his untouched bowl of ramen, and despite its enticing aroma he couldn't bring himself to start eating.  Jiraiya was seated at the stool beside him, shamelessly flirting with Ayame and drawing disapproving glances from Teuchi.  The young woman laughed and went along with it for a while, politely turning Jiraiya down when he asked if she might help him with some 'research'.  The whole ordeal only made Naruto more uneasy, and it was only after Jiraiya made a particularly lewd comment - and got scolded by the owner - that he finally spoke up.

"What did you want to talk about, Jiraiya-sensei?" The old Sannin blinked and glanced over at his pupil, eyes flickering to the shop owners before he spoke in what sounded like a natural tone.

"No hurry," he said casually, cutting himself off with a mouthful of noodles.  "Finish your ramen first, kiddo."  Naruto got the hint; Jiraiya didn't want to speak openly about it while Teuchi and Ayame were present.  Without any other options he started into his meal, and immediately regretted not doing so earlier.  As always, Ichiraku's ramen was the best.  It wasn’t long before Naruto was draining the lukewarm broth from the bowl; it had been incredible even after sitting for so long.

"Alright," he sighed, leaning back as he finished.  Teuchi and Ayame had gone to the back claiming the need to do inventory, though Naruto had a suspicion that they had just caught Jiraiya's subtle hint.  "Can you tell me now?"

"Always impatient," Jiraiya grumbled, taking a swig of sake from a flask hidden in the folds of his vest.  "Kakashi's probably told you already, but the Hokage is retiring.  He and his advisors have chosen a successor."  Naruto nodded; none of this was news to him.  "They decided to beseech Tsunade – another of the Sannin – for the position."  That _was_ news, though.

"I've heard Tenten talk about her before," Naruto started slowly.  "She's famous for her medical ninjutsu, right?"

"And for her incredible strength.  I used to ask her on dates and I'd land on my back a hundred meters away."  Jiraiya barked out a hearty laugh, shaking his head.  "The higher ups say that she's the most logical choice, if not the only choice Konoha has."

"But what does that have to do with me?"  It was a simple question, but the answer was a complicated one.  Jiraiya studied the boy for a moment before folding his arms and continuing.

"Tsunade is also stubborn, and she may not accept it so easily.  To put it bluntly, I think you might be able to help convince her."

"Me?  Why?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"Because Kakashi tells me that your goal is to be Hokage one day," Jiraiya said with only the slightest smirk.  Naruto nodded unabashedly, but he still looked confused.  "And . . . I can't really share with you all of the details as to why you'd be of assistance, but your drive to become Hokage alone should help.  Basically, you may be the deciding factor in helping Konoha find its new leader."

**_He's not telling you something._ **

_Pretty sure he just said that, genius.  But if we - if I can help convince Tsunade to come be Hokage, what does it matter?_

**_He's not telling you something_** **important _,_** Kurama growled.   ** _Leave the snark for less serious matters.  He probably wants to keep an eye on us._**

"You want me to come because you want to keep an eye on me, don't you?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Jiraiya shrugged, though when he glanced over to see Naruto's quirked eyebrow he sighed and relented.  "Fine, yes, that's part of it.  But it's not because anybody told me to," he added quickly.  "It's because . . . Well . . ."

"Because you're my godfather?" Naruto ventured innocently.  The look on his sensei's face was priceless.

"How . . .?" Jiraiya almost looked offended for a moment before his eyes narrowed and he scowled.  "You know, it's not exactly fair that you have a damned tailed beast in your head sharing things with you."

"You're the 'Legendary Toad Sage', sensei; I'll take what advantages I can get."  They shared a grin at that, lapsing into a short silence.  "How long will it take?" Naruto asked after a moment.

"A week; two at most." Jiraiya seemed confident in his response.  It wouldn't be a long trip to wherever Tsunade was, then.

"Okay, I'll do it.  Are Hinata and Sasuke coming too?” he asked hopefully.

“I think Kakashi has some special training planned for those two; it’s probably more genjutsu stuff.  Don’t worry, though.  I’ll have some for you as well.”  Jiraiya smirked, and his student’s face lit up.

“Is it another cool technique like the Rasengan?”

“Mm . . .” Jiraiya’s expression sobered then, and he looked thoughtful as he swirled the contents of his flask.  “Seeing as you knew about me, I take it that the Kyuubi has told you about your parents?”  Naruto nodded slowly, turning back to the counter.  “I wanted to teach you some more of your father’s techniques.  I know you have the capability to learn them, and I think he would have wanted to pass them on to you.”

“The Yondaime . . .” Naruto started, shaking his head after a moment and smiling faintly.  “My dad was an incredible ninja, wasn’t he?”

“I believe that Minato was the strongest shinobi that ever lived.  He was Konoha’s Yellow Flash, revered throughout the world.  He was extremely intelligent, powerful, and kind.  But your father wasn’t just an incredible ninja, Naruto.  He was the best man that I’ve ever known.”  Jiraiya left his praise there for a time.  He glanced to Naruto, who he could tell was struggling to keep his composure.  _He probably only learned about all this recently.  Poor kid._

“Sounds great.” It had been a minute or two before Naruto could respond, his voice a bit shaky as he rubbed at the corners of his eyes.  “When do we need to leave?”

“Tomorrow morning,” Jiraiya responded as he stood, stretching.  He set a few extra ryo on the counter with the amount that was already there, winking at Naruto before he turned to leave.  “Have another bowl; I think somebody else wants to talk to you.”  Naruto blinked up at his retreating sensei before looking back over the counter.  Teuchi had just emerged from the back room, and there were tears in his eyes.  There weren’t any other customers at the moment, but it seemed that their conversation had not been entirely private nonetheless.

“I owe you an apology, Naruto,” he began with a heavy sigh.  The old man almost looked physically pained.  “I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to tell you about your parents.  I wanted so badly to, especially in the past when you had a more difficult time with the villagers.”

“It’s alright, sir,” Naruto assured him, trying his hand at a confident grin.  “I know the law was there to protect me, and that you didn’t have a choice about it.”

“Still . . . I want to at least make amends for my inability to tell you about your parents.  I’ve been waiting to be able to tell you about them, and some things I think they’d have wanted to tell you if they were here today.”  This was almost getting to be too much for Naruto – almost.  Kurama had told him about his parents, although it had been more of an overview.  Going over their entire lives would take a long time, and there were bound to be things even the Kyuubi hadn’t known.  All of the new details coming out about his parents were a little overwhelming.  He could only nod for fear of letting more emotions swell up.

“They . . . Your parents used to come here often.  Not as frequently as you and your friends, of course,” Teuchi smiled, gaining back some of his natural warmth, “But frequently enough for me to get to know them.  Your mother was one of my first regular customers, as a matter of fact.  Business was slow after we opened some . . . Ah, how long as it been, dear?”

“Almost thirty-four years, dad,” Ayame said as she passed by with a tray of uncooked noodles.  “Honestly, I’ve hardly been alive for half of that time and I remember better than you.”

“Bah, you’re young.  Have mercy on your poor father’s memory.” Teuchi chuckled, turning back to Naruto.  “Anyway, for the first few years business was a bit slow.  But when Kushina moved here from Whirlpool Country, she started coming just about every other day.  She’d always order salt ramen,” he laughed, leaning back against the nearby wall.  “You’re a lot like her, you know.  Strong willed, passionate, and very kind despite the circumstances you’ve had to deal with for your entire life.  You don’t quite have your mother’s fiery disposition, but you can get boisterous when you want to.  Not so much so these days, I guess.”  Naruto gave the old man an appreciative smile.

“She brought Minato here on what I gather was their first date, much like you brought Hinata here a few years ago.”  He winked, and Naruto flushed.  “Oh their relationship was something else.  She would always talk his ear off and he’d just sit there listening, patient and understanding.  People used to say that they never understood what he saw in her, but he most certainly saw something he loved.

“As they grew up and took on more responsibilities I saw them less, of course.  They still came by between missions, though, always together.  I think I was one of the first to know about Kushina’s pregnancy.  Those two were absolutely glowing when they told me they were expecting a child.  They would talk about their hopes for you, Naruto, and their plans as a family.”  He stopped for a few seconds when Naruto couldn’t suppress a small sob, which he did his best to disguise as a cough.  Teuchi’s eyes softened further as he continued.  “Even before you were born they loved you with all of the devotion that only parents have to their children.  I can see now that you’ve inherited Kushina’s heart and mind, and your father’s body and ability.  I know they would be proud of you, Naruto-kun.”

“Thank you,” Naruto got out after a moment, once again wiping at his eyes.  He couldn’t think of anything else to say.  “Thank you, Teuchi-san.”

“I’m just glad to finally be able to tell you,” Teuchi said graciously.  “There’s one last thing, though.”  Naruto looked up at him, his cheeks still slightly wet.  The man reached into his coat and drew out a folded red cloth, extending his arm to offer it to the boy.  “Your mother went through a phase around your age where she wore a red headband very similar to yours.  She got mad and took it off one day when Minato teased her about it, and she accidentally left it here.  I tried returning it on multiple occasions, but I think she was too embarrassed to take it back.  I eventually forgot about it, but now I think you should have it.  It’s not much, but it’s at least one keepsake of hers.”  Naruto was speechless.  While Teuchi had said that it was basically of little significance, it meant the world to him.  He reached out and took the simple length of cloth, carefully unfolding and staring down at it for a long while.

“I . . .” he started, trying to find the right words.  Teuchi smiled and nodded at him, accepting the unspoken thanks.

“Don’t mention it.  I’m just glad that this old man can be of some help to you finally.  Now, how about that bowl of ramen?”

Naruto was silent for a time.  He untied his hitai-ate and the violet cloth he had always kept beneath, reverently replacing the latter with his mother’s old article.  The two crimson tails trailed down between his shoulder blades just like the other had, but for some inexplicable reason this one felt . . . right, and somehow more comfortable.  He tied his forehead protector in place again, the faint smile from earlier back on his lips.

“I think I’ll have some salt ramen this time, Teuchi-san.”

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

It had been a long day for Team Seven.  After Naruto had left Ichiraku he had gone back to train, and though his ability to break out of genjutsu had improved he still lacked the skill that Sasuke and Hinata possessed.  While he had been away with Jiraiya they had both managed to break free of the Insanity technique.  Naruto was a quick learner, but by the end of their session he still couldn’t get the hang of it.  Chakra control had never been his forte, and though he had improved immensely over the year it wasn’t enough.

“Alright, that’s enough for today,” Kakashi told them as dusk started to set in.  “Naruto, I want you to do chakra control exercises every day while you’re gone.  Being able to recognize and break yourself out of advanced genjutsu is a necessity for an adept shinobi.”

“I know,” Naruto groaned, massaging his aching temples.  “I will, sensei.”  He didn’t even think of complaining about the new training.  They had all asked their instructor to train them harder in the aftermath of the attack, and Kakashi had certainly accepted the request.  It was hard, but he knew it was important, especially if he wanted to be as strong as his dad one day.

“I’ve never had a headache this bad,” Sasuke muttered as they walked back towards the village.  “I’m pretty sure half of it is from having my brain messed with so many times, and the other half is from one of you punching me.”

“I’m sorry, Sasuke-kun.  I didn’t mean to,” she replied, looking genuinely distraught.  “It still took me too long to break it after I figured out how.”

“Hey, you can still free yourself faster than I can, and I’m the one with the Sharingan,” he joked, shaking his head.  “And don’t worry about not getting it yet, Naruto.  I can always stick a kunai in your foot if you take too long.”

“I’m sure you would, too,” Naruto said with a smirk.  “I’ll get it eventually.  For now I just have to settle with being able to kick your ass at everything else.”

“Uh huh.”  Sasuke was clearly unconvinced, but there were more important things to talk about.  Their fake egos would have to wait.  “What kind of techniques did Jiraiya-sensei say he’d teach you while you’re gone?”

“He didn’t say anything specific, but if my dad used them I’m sure they’re awesome.  I just hope I don’t have to be gone too long.”  He didn’t glance aside to Hinata when he spoke, but he gave her hand a brief squeeze.  She returned it before speaking, purposefully skirting that particular topic.

“The Yondaime was known as Konoha’s Yellow Flash, wasn’t he?  I remember learning about him at the academy.  During the Third World War, enemies were given flee-on-sight orders if he was on the battlefield.”  Hinata flushed lightly when her two companions blinked over at her.  “What?  You two had the same classes that I did.”

“That doesn’t mean we paid any attention in _history,_ ” Sasuke said dismissively.  “But was he really that strong?”

“Jiraiya-sensei said he was the strongest shinobi of his time, and maybe ever,” Naruto said with a proud grin.  “He invented a lot of his own jutsu that don’t need hand seals – like the Rasengan – and he was apparently faster than lightning, or something like that.”

“That’s not even possible,” Sasuke replied, putting his hands up defensively when Naruto frowned at him.  “Hey, I’m just saying that nothing moves faster than light.  Lots of people have tried, but even a shinobi’s body has its limits.”

“I guess.”  The blond didn’t seem to want to admit that his father couldn’t have lived up to his fame.  “But I mean, summoning stuff makes it move faster, right?”

“Technically,” Hinata inserted.  “It doesn’t move, though.  It just gets transported from one place to another instantly.  I remember my father going over space-time ninjutsu, and he described it as making a hole in reality in two places, then pulling something through it.”

“That sounds weird.”  Naruto’s face was scrunched up a little, like he was trying to picture it in his mind.  “Really weird.  Anyway, I’m sure he really did it.”  Sasuke shrugged, and Hinata nodded confidently.  They walked the rest of the way to Iruka’s together, giving Naruto suggestions on what to bring along for the trip and planning things to do when he got back.  Sasuke bid them farewell at their building, promising to meet them at the gate in the morning.

It was dark in the apartment when Naruto and Hinata entered.  The place was empty, which was odd for this time of day.  Normally they would find Iruka busy in the kitchen, starting on the evening’s meal and welcoming their assistance.

“I guess he got held up today,” Naruto pondered aloud as they finished checking around.  “Want to get started on dinner before he gets back?  We should make all of our favorite foods, since I won’t be here for a while!”

“We should,” Hinata said with a bright smile.  “I’ll start on um . . . Iruka-sensei likes grilled chicken and steamed vegetables, right?  And do we have anything for a sashimi dish?”

“Yeah, I got some squid this morning.  Iruka-sensei loves squid, so that’ll be great.  I’ll make the miso soup, and I’ll try to make the zenzai again, but after last time . . .” He made a face, and Hinata had to suppress a giggle.  “Well, it’s your favorite, so I’ll do my best.”

“It’s one of yours too, and I liked it last time!” she insisted, turning on the stove and reaching for the wok.  When she had first learned of Naruto’s other favorite food – months before they had begun living together – it had given her a bit of joy to know that they shared something else in common.

“You’re just saying that,” Naruto grumbled, though there was little conviction in his tone.  “But thanks.”  He grinned and stole a quick kiss before getting to work on the red bean soup, also trying to stealthily prepare what he knew was Hinata’s other beloved dish.

Iruka came home to the savory aromas drifting from the kitchen, as well as the constant chatter between his two charges.  Despite the long, arduous day he had experienced, the chuunin smiled.  He had never anticipated that adopting one child – and taking in a second – would result in such joys as coming back to a lively home.  It was something he thought about often nowadays.  _A real family, huh?_

“You two are unbelievable,” he sighed, shaking his head at Naruto and Hinata as he entered.  “I smell . . . My favorite chicken recipe?”  Hinata beamed at him.  “I don’t remember teaching you that.”

“I watched you make it once,” she admitted, looking a little guilty.  “Naruto wanted us to have our favorites tonight.”

“What’s the occasion?” Iruka asked, walking automatically to the rice maker.  “I see you’re even making zenzai, and are those . . .?”

“I’m leaving with Jiraiya-sensei on a mission,” Naruto said quickly, eyes flickering to see if Hinata had glanced back at him.  He relaxed a little when she didn’t, quietly slipping a tray into the oven.  “I might be gone for two weeks, so I wanted us to eat a great meal together.”

“I see.”  Iruka kept himself from frowning as he set the rice to cook, realizing afterwards that they had everything else covered already.  He sank into a chair by the table, thinking.  “Make sure you don’t forget anything, and be safe.”

“I will; you don’t have to worry about me, Iruka-sensei.  We’re just going to find Jiraiya-sensei’s friend Tsunade.”  Iruka looked up at him sharply, eyes calculating.  He had heard rumors about the Hokage stepping down – and about his potential successor – but this information more or less confirmed it.

“I’ll worry about what I want to,” Iruka teased in response, readopting a grin.  Naruto made an impudent face back at him, but he didn’t mind.  _I’ll always worry, Naruto._

Dinner was a success in Naruto’s book.  The main course consisted of the standard bowl of rice accompanied by miso soup and three traditional sides: squid sashimi, grilled chicken, and steamed seasoned vegetables.  They had the sweet red bean soup for dessert, which – to Naruto’s delight – received much praise.  Luckily for him the strong smells around the kitchen had masked his surprise for Hinata.  He left the table to withdraw the baking sheet from the oven, and when he presented the cinnamon rolls Hinata’s eyes lit up.  Iruka could only laugh as she thanked Naruto, who looked simultaneously embarrassed and entirely too pleased with himself.

“Ah . . .” Iruka sighed, stretching in his chair and patting his stomach.  “That might have been the best meal I’ve had in years.  Thank you both very much.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Hinata said with a glowing smile as she and Naruto gathered the dishes.  Before long they had all retired to the living room, relaxing for a while and talking about their days.  It was as pleasant an evening as any of them could have asked for.

“I should get to bed,” Iruka said after a time, covering a yawn with one hand.  “I need to be up to see you off in the morning before I head to the academy.”  Naruto and Hinata bid him a goodnight as he stepped to the door, though he paused for a moment and narrowed his eyes back at the pair.  “You’d better let him get enough sleep, Hinata.”  Her cheeks turned red even though she knew that his comment was made in jest, and she nodded dutifully.  “Good.  Sleep well you two.”

Hinata and Naruto took care of the dishes before taking turns bathing, and it wasn’t long before they had changed and were back in the now dark living room.  His normal sleeping attire consisted of a simple t-shirt and a pair of shorts, while hers alternated between a nightgown and one similar to his own.  Tonight she wore one of Naruto’s shirts and a pair of capris, an outfit that she would never have dreamed of wearing in front of him even a few weeks prior.  But as she curled up with him on the couch, it only felt comfortable.

“I’ll miss you,” Hinata said quietly after a long while, forcing herself not to feel terribly self-conscious about the simple statement.  She wasn’t about to let things go unsaid after all that had happened.  She knew that it logically made sense to be honest, but it didn’t stop her from fidgeting with his hand.

“It won’t be for too long,” he assured, though when she didn’t respond for a few seconds he added, “But I’ll miss you, too.”

“I just . . .” She bit her lip, closing her eyes and willing the harsh images away.  “I can’t stop thinking about when you . . .” Unable to finish the sentence, Hinata lapsed back into silence.  Naruto pulled her a little closer, nuzzling the top of her head as it came to rest just below his chin.

“It’ll be okay.  I’ll have Jiraiya-sensei with me all the time, too.”

“But the Hokage said that Akatsuki might be looking for you.  Isn’t it unsafe for you to leave the village right now?”

“I dunno,” he shrugged.  “I mean, if they’re as strong as he said they are then they could probably get into the village anyway.  At least this way I’ll have one – maybe even two – of the Sannin nearby, right?”

“I guess so . . .” Nothing would convince her not to worry, but she did have to hold back a small laugh at a particular thought.  _I never thought about what having a jinchuuriki for a boyfriend would be like._ She realized that living with this concern might have to be the norm, but at the same time she trusted and had confidence in Naruto.  The nightmares of his death would go away eventually.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

It was a lively group that came to see Naruto off in the morning.  Somebody had told Team Gai about it, and Tenten had taken it upon herself to inform the rest of their friends.  All of the Konoha Twelve were there, along with Haku, Kakashi, and Iruka.  Neji even showed up, looking as somber as usual.

“Guys, it’s not like I’m leaving for a really long time,” Naruto laughed, rubbing at the back of his neck.  “What’s with the sendoff?”

“Ino dragged Chouji and me here,” Shikamaru said dryly, earning a glare from the blonde girl.

“Is it not appropriate behavior to see a comrade off on a journey?” Shino questioned, what could be seen of his face a blank mask.

“Yeah!” Kiba and Sakura said together, staring daggers at one another a breath later.

“Do your best, Naruto-kun!” Lee exclaimed, giving Naruto his signature gleaming smile and thumbs-up.

“Oh, Lee,” Tenten sighed, rolling her eyes.  She smirked and draped her arms around Hinata’s shoulders from behind, winking at Naruto.  “You’d better come home quick or _somebody’s_ gonna get lonely.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll see if she’ll go out with me instead.”

“T-Tenten-chan!” Hinata squeaked, blushing furiously.  Everybody – except for Sasuke and Shino, of course – laughed, which only made her more embarrassed.

“I’m just kidding; everybody knows you two lovebirds are inseparable.”  That didn’t do much to assuage Hinata’s flush, but Tenten did let her go.  “Don’t worry, Naruto; I’ll make sure to take your place while you’re gone.  Platonically, of course.”  She afforded him another mischievous wink before Jiraiya cut in.

“Alright, that’s enough of that,” the Sannin scolded, turning towards the open gate.  “I want to make it to Shukuba by noon.”

“Yes, sensei,” Naruto said obediently.  He did a half-turn to follow after, then stopped and glanced back at Hinata.  She blinked at him, and his cheeks colored to match his new headband.  He quickly mustered enough courage to step over and just barely brush his lips against her cheek, turning to sprint after Jiraiya before she could even react.  All around her their friends whistled and cheered.  It was a bit too much for the poor girl to handle.

“Whoa there,” Tenten laughed, catching Hinata as she teetered backwards.  The young Hyuuga was practically glowing red.  A small battle fan appeared in Tenten’s hand in a puff of smoke, and she used it to coax some air towards Hinata.  “That’s a little dramatic for a peck on your cheek.  Besides, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“I-I’m not embarrassed,” Hinata insisted feebly, straightening and trying to get a handle on the butterflies trying to escape her stomach.

“Sure, and I like wearing pink,” Sasuke remarked coolly.  Haku giggled, and even Kakashi cracked a small grin behind his mask.  Hinata struggled to find an appropriate response, failed, then spun to lead the way stiffly out of the dispersing group.

“You guys are mean,” Iruka chuckled.  “I take it there haven’t been many public displays of affection between those two yet?”

“More like none,” Sasuke corrected, slipping his hands into his pockets and starting with his team back towards town.  “About all anybody’s seen before today was the way their hands are constantly glued together.”

“Somebody sounds jealous,” Haku said mildly, earning him a flat look from his friend.  He only smiled back innocently, though when Sasuke seemed to be looking past him he raised an eyebrow and turned to look as well.  Team Gai was just disappearing around a corner, but Team Eight was still sharing the street with them.  Haku had to stop himself from frowning when he realized who Sasuke was looking at.  “Kakashi-senpai said we don’t have to meet for training until ten today.”  He made sure to keep his voice perfectly neutral.

“Since when did I cease being your instructor?” Kakashi asked amusedly.  Haku blanched and ducked his head, earning him a satisfied nod from his ‘senpai.’

“I’ll meet you there,” Sasuke said calmly, breaking away from the group.  Neither Kakashi nor Haku glanced back or wondered what he was up to, but Iruka and Hinata both watched curiously as he approached Kurenai’s team.  Sakura spotted him on the way over and flushed lightly, excusing herself and breaking off to meet him.

“Not training this morning, Sasuke-kun?” she said by way of greeting.

“Kakashi-sensei is meeting with some of the other jounin this morning, so we won’t start until ten.  Join me for a walk?”  Sakura nodded emphatically, clasping her hands behind her back and falling into step beside Sasuke.  It was remarkable to her how natural such things had become in the short time since the second exam.  They had only been on two dates, but they had also spoken a great deal more recently than ever before.

“How’s your training going?” she asked, walking with him towards a path that ran along the outer wall.  If there was one thing he could always talk about, it was his training.

“Pretty well.  Kakashi-sensei has had us training with genjutsu lately.  More recently he’s been making us learn how to break free of techniques that directly affect the mind, ones that make us physically incapable of forming hand seals.”

“Like the Binding technique?”

“That was what we started with, but he’s been using one of the Demonic Illusion ones – he calls it Insanity.” Sasuke blinked and looked around when he realized that Sakura was no longer next to him a few steps later.  He looked back to find her staring at him, clearly aghast.

“I’ve seen Kurenai-sensei use that once, on one of our missions,” she started, shivering at the recollection.  “Two rogue shinobi attacked while we were doing routine border patrol.  I don’t think they were very strong, but sensei didn’t take any chances.  They . . . Well . . .”

“They killed each other?” Sasuke offered blandly.  Sakura shivered again.

“Yeah, one of them anyway.  She finished off the other when the jutsu was released.  Kakashi-sensei used that on _you_?”  He shrugged, nodding forward in an attempt to get her walking again.  Only when her feet began to move did he respond, keeping his tone nonchalant.

“I think it was a milder form, but yeah.  He used it on all of us at once and had us try to break it while fighting one another.  He didn’t let us get hurt,” he added, noting the distressed expression she had taken on.

“I know all of the teams are training a lot harder since the exams, but that’s . . . That’s pretty harsh, and he shouldn’t expect genin to be able to–”

“Dispel it?  Hinata and I can both do it now, and Naruto isn’t far behind.”  Sakura balked and missed a step, and Sasuke misinterpreted it as her surprise at Naruto’s lack of progress.  “Genjutsu is his weak point, so I don’t expect him to ever be good at countering it.  But at least the Kyuubi always lets him know if he’s under an illusory technique.”

“Right, the Kyuubi,” she responded faintly, shaking her head.  “Shikamaru was right.  You three are on a whole different level.  I guess it makes sense, with your and Hinata’s bloodlines and Naruto with that . . . Fox.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with kekkei genkai or bijuu.”  Sasuke voice was firm, but not harsh.  They’d been over this once before, and he knew she didn’t mean anything by it.  “We’ve trained for most of our lives, harder than anybody else.  The only difference between us and the rest of our peers is that we each have a drive that makes us want to be stronger.”

“Doesn’t everybody?” The question from the kunoichi sounded patronizing, and once again Sasuke felt his patience being tested.  He was reminded why the other dates hadn’t really been fantastic.

“What’s yours?” he asked.

“I want to protect the village,” Sakura answered almost immediately, putting in a more recent addition right after, “And I want to be more useful to my team.  I realized that I wasn’t really ready to be a ninja after leaving the academy, and I need to make up for that.”

“That’s not a bad thing to want; neither of those are.  But – no offense – the first was just an automatic response, wasn’t it?  It’s what we were taught in the academy.”  She opened her mouth to object, thought for a second, and then closed it again.  He was right.  “And it’s admirable that you want to be stronger for your team; that’s how we all started.  But we just call that friendship.”  Sakura blinked at him, not quite understanding the difference yet.  “Kurenai probably had you all state your goals on your first day as a team, right?” She nodded, flushing.  Sasuke had to stop himself from rolling his eyes; he had a pretty good idea what her ‘goal’ had been back then.  “You didn’t really have a true aim for your life at that point, did you?  And do you now?”

“Not . . . Really, I guess.  I always thought that if I followed the lessons and did my duty as a shinobi, then that would be enough.”  Sasuke only shook his head, stopping on the bridge that Team Seven often used as a meeting spot.  He leaned on the railing, looking down into the water.  Sakura joined him after a moment, afraid to touch on the natural next topic.  “Itachi?” She had asked as gently and as quietly as she could, but he still visibly tensed, then nodded.

“That was my first kick into serious training.  The second was Naruto and Hinata, to be strong enough to protect them.”  She said nothing, waiting for the implied question to be answered.  Sasuke smirked sideways at her.  “And their reasons aren’t mine to share, although I’m pretty sure the whole village knows Naruto’s from his antics years ago.”

“To be the ‘best Hokage there ever was’, right?” Sakura giggled, though her good humor died down almost as quickly as it came.  “I don’t really know him very well . . . But he seems so confident all of the time.  I can see why Hinata’s always liked him, though he looks kind of scary now after what happened.”

“He’s still the same old Naruto.  Loud, way too friendly, eternally optimistic, et cetera.”  Sasuke smiled despite himself.  “People have always thought poorly of him because of something he had no control over.  After he and Kur – ah, the Kyuubi saved the village last week, people only found new reasons to dislike him.  But even if he can get annoying sometimes, he’d do anything for his friends, and for the village.”

“I wish our team were as close as yours,” Sakura sighed, flicking a splinter from the railing into the stream.  “Kiba and I only seem to argue all the time, and Shino isn’t interested in much outside of his bugs; he hardly speaks most days.”

“Kiba’s an Inuzuka, and Shino’s an Aburame.  Did you expect them to be much different than their clans?”

“I guess not.  I just wish we could be a little closer, I suppose.”

“How often do you train?” Sasuke’s question was a simple one, but Sakura raised an inquiring eyebrow.

“A few hours a day, then maybe a mission if there’s one for us.  Why?”  Sasuke shrugged, pushing off of the railing.

“Pretty much from the beginning of our time at the academy, the three of us have trained together.  Not only that, but we all had reason to train for hours on end, every day.  On off days we’d frequently go from dawn until dusk, only stopping for a few breaks to eat.  But you all know that, so why do you wonder why we’re so close?  I’m sure if you tried cooperating with Kiba and engaging Shino in more conversations, they’d come around.  When in doubt, you could always train more.”  His hands found his pockets and he began sauntering down the path again, followed closely by Sakura.  She seemed a touch despondent after that, falling silent for a long while.

“Do you ever get jealous of Naruto and Hinata?” she asked finally.

“How so?” He knew ‘how so’, but the question had to be asked for propriety’s sake.

“You know ‘how so.’” She also knew that he knew ‘how so’.  Perhaps they had spent a bit too much time together lately.

“Not really,” he shrugged.  It wasn’t something he wanted to talk about.  But then, what had he intended to talk about when he had invited her on a walk?  “I don’t mind giving them their alone time.  I’ve got plenty of training to do, plus Haku’s been getting pretty good at Shogi and Go.  He’s fun to hang out with.”

“But you’re not . . . interested in that kind of thing?”

 _Here we go._ “What kind of thing?”

“You can quit being coy any time,” Sakura huffed, though she managed to do it in a manner that didn’t seem haughty.  Instead it came off as somewhat playful.  “You’ve asked me on two dates now, and we’ve been talking more recently.  You haven’t thought about it at all?”

“I think I liked it better when you were obsessive and clueless,” Sasuke muttered, earning him a flat look.  He put up his hands in a conciliatory gesture, shrugging immediately after and rubbing at the back of his neck.  “I guess so.  I just can’t see myself in that kind of relationship.”

“Why not?”

 _Why not your face?_ “I’m not exactly the touchy-feely type like those two are, and I’m not sure if you noticed but I don’t have the broadest range of expressions.  Naruto likes to point out how dull I am at every opportunity.”

“You don’t have to be like them, or have the same kind of bond with somebody.  And I don’t think you’re dull,” she continued, and it was only when she had gotten fairly close that Sasuke realized that they had stopped at the center of the wooded path.  “I think you’re just quiet, serious, and maybe a little cold, but I can tell by the way you care for your friends that you have a good heart.”  She came nearer still, allowing him to notice just how big and beautifully green her eyes were.  “You can’t just lead a girl on and not expect her to get curious, Sasuke-kun . . . .”

“I’m not . . .” he started, wondering where his usual insouciance had gone.  He instinctively took a step back, but she countered with a step forward.  His Sharingan activated of its own accord – he told himself it had nothing to do with his increased heart rate.  This promenade was not going as planned.  Or was it?  He was second guessing himself now, which was never a good sign.  There was a strange sensation in his gut – something akin to fluttering.

“You’re not . . . ?” Sakura asked innocently, her face mere centimeters from his as she looked up into his eyes.  For a long moment Sasuke just stared, dumbfounded at how he had been so boldly maneuvered into this position.  It had been so smooth that he hadn’t even noticed.  Had she done it on purpose, or had the conversation just flowed in this direction?  Her lips looked so enticing, and his head was feeling fuzzy.

_Fuck it._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Two cloaked figures stood overlooking Konoha, their faces shrouded by plain sugegasa tilted forward over their eyes.  Their black cloaks shifted in the gentle breeze, and the red clouds adorning the garments seemed a little like the real thing.  The taller of the pair wore a yellow ring on his left ring finger, over skin far too pallid and clammy to be normal.  The other wore a similar piece on his right ring finger, its color a deep red.  They stood atop the Hokage monument just above the Yondaime’s stone face.

“The Kyuubi won’t be easy to subdue, Itachi,” the tall man droned in an odd accent, his voice a touch gravelly.  He tilted his straw hat up a bit, squinting down and around at the city.  “From the looks of the village and the area to the north, I’d say the jinchuuriki really did transform.  Could be dangerous.”

“Perhaps, but if our information is accurate then we know how to engage him.”

“Yeah, yeah, you and your eye tricks.  Let’s get going already; Samehada is getting hungry.”  Itachi said nothing, his impassive eyes gazing across the village – his old home.  He lingered for a fraction of a second on the abandoned Uchiha compound, then vanished a second later.  Kisame followed suit, holding a devious smile all the while.  Akatsuki was on the hunt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks. Hope you’re all doing well!
> 
> No important notes for this chapter that I can think of, except to thank Rhi and the rest of you of course. Thank you for reading and reviewing, and for all of the follows and favorites! It’s always encouraging to see that people are enjoying the story. Much appreciation @ Rhi also; I occasionally go into uncharted territory without telling her (like in this chapter), so thanks for putting up with me!
> 
> Still looking for an artist, FYI! D:
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> \- Wes


	20. In Pursuit

Hinata took in a deep, calming breath.  A cool breeze played through the arching boughs of the nearby cherry trees, scattering more pink blossoms across the path in front of her.  The sweet smell of flowers and earth filled her senses, soothing away anxiety.  She heard the gate close behind her, but she remained still for a time.  After a long moment she exhaled deeply, starting down the cobblestone walkway and towards the Hyūga estate – towards her father’s home.

“Hinata-sama,” a man gasped as the Hyūga heiress approached the main building.  He nearly dropped the pitcher he had been carrying, hastily setting it down to slide open the door for her.  “Hiashi-sama was not expecting you so soon; please, come inside!”

“Good afternoon, Kō-san,” Hinata smiled, nodding her head as he bowed.  “It’s good to see you again.”  Kō blinked and looked up at her, as if trying to figure out how to react to the friendly greeting.  “Could you tell my father that I’ll be waiting for him in the dojo?”

“Of course, Lady Hinata.”  He bowed once again, closing the door once she had stepped over the threshold.  Hurried steps carried him away, though he cast several furtive glances back before the building was out of sight.  _Is that really . . . the same girl?_

The dojo looked exactly as Hinata remembered it.  The rosewood floors and wall panels gleamed in the faint light coming through the shaded windows, and the familiar scent of polish mixed with that of the cherry blossoms just outside.  She clasped her hands in front of her, sifting through memories that started to spring up in the back of her mind.  Hours, days, and weeks on end had been spent in this room – years of her life, all the while striving for her father’s approval.  Countless failures and few successes had been earned there.  It was a place of harsh reminders, but ones that she no longer wished to forget.

“I am glad to see that you are doing well, Hinata.”  She forced herself not to tense when Hiashi’s voice drifted from the other side of the room; he had entered so quietly that she hadn’t noticed his presence.  Hinata turned gracefully and bowed, keeping herself relaxed despite the small knot in her stomach.  Even though they had reconciled with one another, he was still her father and the Hyūga clan leader, and she was about to step out of place.

“Hiashi-sama,” she began reverently, lifting her eyes to meet his.  To her surprise, he had a very small, fond smile tugging at his lips.  Hiashi had never been one to display emotion, even to his children.  “I have come on your invitation to discuss the matter of my rejoining the Hyūga Clan as heiress.  I . . .” Hinata trailed off as her father _chuckled_ softly, shaking his head and gesturing towards a dais on the far side of the room.  It held the family’s traditional armors and weapons, and nearest to them sat a platter with two cups and a small pot.

“There is no need to be so formal.  Let us have some tea, and then we can talk.”  He glided over and lowered himself on one side of the refreshments, motioning for her to join him.  Hinata moved to ease herself down across from him; she felt flustered, not sure what to make of Hiashi now.  “It’s been seven months,” he continued, his voice gentle and low.  She didn’t need to ask which event he was referring to.  “Much has changed since February, daughter.  I have had time to reflect on the past, I have realized my shortcomings, and I have sought to mend and atone for them.”

“I heard from the Hokage that you were reexamining our clan’s laws, namely those regarding the Branch House,” Hinata ventured cautiously.  Despite Hiashi’s invitation to speak casually and his apparent nonchalance, such matters had been taboo at one time.  Old habits were difficult to break.

“I spoke to Neji after the invasion.  I told him the truth about the Branch Family, and the true fate of his father, Hizashi.  Have you spoken to him since?”

“I have,” she responded slowly.  “He shared the details of Hizashi-sama’s sacrifice for the clan, and he told me that you planned to end the practice of applying the cursed seal.”  Hiashi nodded solemnly, remaining silent for a time as he sipped from his steaming drink.

“I believe my brother would have wanted his son to know the truth eventually, and I know that he would have rejoiced knowing that the cursed seal will be done away with.”  Hinata inclined her head in agreement, sharing a smile with her father.  “Much has changed, and will continue to change.

“I must assume that you have come to your decision,” he said after a moment, setting his cup down and folding his arms.  “Unless you came only to have a drink; I could not be upset with my daughter for simply coming to visit.”

“I have made my choice, yes, though it is one of compromise.”  Hiashi nodded, and she got the feeling that he had been expecting this all along.  “I would like to accept your invitation to return to my position as heiress, but I would also like to remain with Naruto and Iruka-sensei for the time being.”  A bit of wistfulness was visible in his eyes for an instant, quickly replaced by acceptance and serenity.

“If that is your condition, I gladly welcome you.  You are an adult now, and as such may go and stay where you wish.  I only ask that you come to train with Neji and Hanabi when you are able.  The formal responsibilities will be there as always, but I expect you considered that already.”

“I will represent the Hyūga where I am needed, of course,” Hinata agreed, struggling to keep a playful grin from her face.  “Just promise not to schedule too many occasions that require my presence, else I may turn rebellious.”

“We could not have that, now,” Hiashi commented seriously, hiding his own smirk.  “They will be kept to a minimum, I promise.  I will send a courier to inform you well in advance should such an event arise.”  He rose with a contented sigh, chuckling again and shaking his head.  “You have grown so much over such a short time, Hinata.  I am proud of you.”

Hinata wasn’t sure what to say or how to react.  Never in her life had she heard those words from her father, and never had he spoken with such sincerity.  Tears formed at the corners of her eyes, heedless of her will, and she had to restrain herself from rushing to embrace him.  Instead she stepped forward, hugging her father as calmly as she could manage and holding on for several seconds.  She took a deep, shuddering breath before breaking contact, looking up to see similarly teary eyes looking down at her.

“We will have a celebration next week,” Hiashi coughed after a minute, gathering his composure.  “Naruto and Sasuke are welcome, of course, as are Kakashi and Iruka.”

“Thank you, father.”  He smiled and nodded; nothing else needed to be said.  They walked together from the dojo, Hiashi escorting his daughter to the estate’s entrance.  He watched as she made her way back towards the town center, thinking about just how much Hinata was starting to resemble her late mother, both in appearance and in spirit.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Kakashi wasn’t at the bridge when Hinata arrived.  In the past it would have been normal for their instructor to be late, but since they had begun their new training regimen he had been _early_ every day.  Haku and Sasuke greeted her as usual, but neither had a clue where the jōnin was.

“It’s still a few minutes until ten,” Sasuke shrugged, leaning against the railing.  “I’m sure he’ll be here; he was really keen to have us master freeing ourselves from Insanity.”

“I think that ended up a lot deeper than you intended,” Haku pointed out with a grin.  The Uchiha gave him flat look, though he couldn’t help but smirk after a few seconds.  “Oh, how’d your stroll with Sakura go?”  Sasuke had to stop himself from scowling.

“We just talked about training,” he replied half-honestly.  “I can have girls as friends without any weird motives.  Right, Hinata?”

“Of course you can, though I have a _strange_ feeling that Sakura isn’t just your friend anymore,” she said cryptically, tapping at her jawline in exaggerated thought.

“Yeah, you could say that it’s written all over you,” Haku put in, scratching pensively at his neck.  “I just can’t figure out _what_ it is, though.”  Sasuke eyed his friends warily at first, but it didn’t take long for him to put it together.  Realization dawned when he mimicked Haku, reaching up to touch his neck.  He muttered a curse, and the other two burst into laughter.

“I never expected Sakura to be so . . . aggressive,” Hinata got out between fits of giggles.

“You can’t even hide them all behind your collar,” Haku teased.  “Sasuke-kun, are you _blushing_?”

“They’re just hickeys; I bet you leave worse on Naruto every day.”  Sasuke scowled fiercely now, tugging up the high collar of his shirt in vain.

“If I did, nobody would ever find out,” Hinata said, donning a mischievous smile even as she flushed.  “He heals too fast.”

“Whatever . . .” he muttered, rubbing at his neck in irritation.  “Alright, so we talked, and we did a bunch of kissing.  Happy?”  She raised an eyebrow at him, as if to say ‘Go on.’  Sasuke rolled his eyes.  “We’re not ‘together’; we’re not anything.  We just . . . got a little carried away this one time, is all,” he finished lamely, reddening a bit even as he glowered.

“If you say so,” Haku chimed.  He wasn’t exactly glad to hear the news, but neither could he convince himself to be down about it.  Though Sasuke was being difficult, he could tell that his friend wasn’t unhappy.  _I can be happy for him, too._

They continued to banter for another fifteen minutes before it became apparent that Kakashi was not going to be anywhere near on time.  They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, looking around warily.  It was then that they began to notice that something was . . . off.  It was a little too quiet, or perhaps too still.  It wasn’t something any of them could explain, but it was something they all knew.

“Let’s go look for Kakashi-sensei,” Sasuke said quietly.  Hinata and Haku only nodded, following as he leapt from the bridge and started back towards town.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

"I never thought you'd show your face here again, Itachi."  Kakashi's tone was casual - almost bored - but it held a certain iciness that wasn't usually present.  He stood at the center of a path by the river, barring the way from two cloaked figures.  The Uchiha only watched him with impassive eyes, but his companion smirked and spoke up.

"Copy Ninja Kakashi, I presume," Kisame drawled.  "Or would you prefer Kakashi of the Sharingan?"

"Whichever suits your fancy, Hoshigaki Kisame."  The man's malicious grin widened.  "I am a shinobi of the Leaf, in any event, and you both are S-rank missing-nin and wanted criminals.  I'll be taking you down now."

"You seem confident that you can accomplish such a feat," Itachi said quietly, his crimson eyes emotionless as they watched Kakashi lift the forehead protector from his hidden Sharingan.  "We are not here to start a fight, Kakashi.  But if you seek one with us, we will surely finish it."

"Let me take him, Itachi," Kisame offered.  "I've wanted to fight against the infamous Sharingan for some–" He was cut off a breath later when a viridian blur collided with the side of his head, sending him flying through the air and crashing down into the water.

"Konoha Senpū!" Gai roared, spinning away from his kick and landing next to Kakashi.  "It looks like you were right about them, Kakashi."

"Yo, Gai," Kakashi responded placidly, not taking his eyes off of the Uchiha.  "Did you want to take the slimy one?  I think I'm better suited for Itachi."  He reached to his kunai holster, withdrawing a knife and spinning it on one finger.  "Besides, I'd like to get some answers from him."

"Yosh!" The eccentric jōnin said no more, bounding towards where Kisame had already recovered.  Their clash was loud and violent, but neither Itachi nor Kakashi moved or took their eyes from one another.  For several tense seconds they were still, even as the air around them began to grow heavy and crackle with energy.  Without warning their hands shot up simultaneously, weaving hand seals so fast that only a Sharingan could have followed.

“Katon: Great Fireball!” they said in unison, and a beat later two massive spheres of fire collided between them.  The resulting explosion released enough energy to push both of them back, and the nearby trees shuddered and swayed dangerously.  But neither was finished just yet.  “Suiton: Water Dragon!”  Twin serpents shot from the water off to one side, twisting and clashing above them before the flames from the previous jutsu had even died out.  Water cascaded down like rain, soaking everything in the vicinity.  “Doton: Earthen Spear!” The ground in front of each shinobi churned and erupted outward, ejecting a shaft of stone that shot forward.  They passed within centimeters of one another.  Kakashi and Itachi mirrored one another’s movements, pivoting one foot and allowing the lance to fly by within a hair’s breadth of their chests.

A kunai appeared at Kakashi’s neck, and without hesitation it ripped backwards at the jōnin’s exposed throat even as Itachi said, “A stolen Sharingan cannot best the genuine article.”  Kakashi’s body fell to the ground, but as it hit the stones below it turned to water and splashed outward.  A ball of lightning tore through Itachi’s chest a split second later; Kakashi stood behind his adversary, his arm extended into Itachi’s back with lightning from his Raikiri arcing all around his bloodied fist.

“Do not underestimate me, Itachi,” Kakashi growled, wrenching his fist back.  The sanguine liquid on his hand disappeared almost immediately, and what he had thought to be Itachi’s body writhed and broke apart into a murder of crows.  The black birds shrieked and frantically took to the sky, fading away quickly.  The rogue Uchiha stood where he had started their encounter, as placid and calculating as ever.

“I’m impressed that you are able to use your Sharingan to such an extent,” Itachi offered mildly.  “But this conflict will draw attention that we do not desire.  I apologize, but this must be finished quickly.”  Kakashi had no time to react.  Itachi blinked once, and his eyes had changed.  The normal design of the Sharingan had shifted in an instant, and the red of his iris was now overlaid with what looked like a black three-pointed shuriken.  _Tsukuyomi._

 _Crap, I can’t_ _–_ It was already too late.  Every natural color faded to black, white, or a faded grey, and ominous black clouds shifted past the dark red moon in the crimson sky above.  It took Kakashi a second to realize that he was bound and suspended on a T-shaped wooden post, helpless to move.  Itachi stood in front of Kakashi, his expressionless features dimmed by the strange dimension.  He held a plain katana in his right hand, pointed at his captive's torso.

"I control time in this realm.  On the outside, a mere second may pass while seventy-two hours go by here.  You will spend what feels to be an eternity exactly where you are, and you will experience pain unlike any you have ever known."  The tip of his sword pierced cleanly through Kakashi's flak jacket, sinking slowly into his flesh.  "There is no escape to this technique.  You will suffer here, and you will break here."

"I told you not to underestimate me," Kakashi grunted, gritting his teeth through the pain.  A second Itachi appeared next to the first, lifting a new blade and plunging it into his side.  He gasped, coughing up blood.  Each faux Uchiha withdrew his katana, only to stab again, and again, and again.  Kakashi wasn't sure how long it went on.  All he could see was red, and pain coursed through every nerve in his body.  It all ended suddenly, however, and even the pain disappeared as if it had never been.  But he remembered it vividly, and looking down now at the veritable army of Itachi clones that had appeared, he knew that this was only the beginning.

"That was one second that you just experienced within my Tsukuyomi.  You have two hundred and fifty-nine thousand, one hundred and ninety-nine seconds left.  I will make sure to keep track for you, lest you forget."  And so he did.  The torture continued for an untold amount of time, and the only way Kakashi knew how many instances he had been through was by Itachi's diligent recitation of the remaining time.  It wasn't until after nearly sixty thousand agonizing seconds that a something  . . . changed.  As darkness closed in following a particularly gruesome ordeal – one that left strips of mangled flesh hanging from every visible portion of his body – Kakashi noted the faintest ripple within his mind.

"I didn't think you'd fall for this, Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi's eyes snapped open after the most recent reset to find Sasuke standing beneath him, facing Itachi.  His student held himself stiffly, and he was staring hard at his long lost older brother.

"Sasuke," the jōnin breathed, disbelieving.  "How did you . . . ?"

"You trained me to use these eyes," he responded tightly, still not looking back at his crucified instructor.  "I stepped into your consciousness, and into the Tsukuyomi.  I'm getting you out."  Sasuke reached forward with one hand, bringing it down in a simple vertical chop.  A jagged tear appeared in the air in front of him, and he reached to dig his fingers into it.  With a grunt he tore a gap in the space, which began to widen rapidly on its own.  The world that Itachi had created shimmered and dissolved, and Kakashi felt a terrible wrenching feeling as he was forcibly brought back to reality.  The first things he saw when he came back to himself were Sasuke's eyes, though only for an instant as the boy flew in front of him.  Itachi came back into view a second later, his eyes slightly narrowed but still looking as collected as ever.

"Can you stand on your own, sensei?" Haku asked.  Kakashi blinked and looked down, realizing that Haku and Hinata were supporting his weight.  Sasuke now stood in front of him, facing Itachi with clenched fists.  Electricity was already beginning to crackle around his left hand.

"I'm fine," Kakashi assured them, regaining his feet.  "Although I'm not sure I would have been if you all hadn't shown up.  Thank you, Sasuke."

"Uchiha Itachi," Sasuke ground out, his face contorted into a snarl as he stared down the man that had taken his whole life away.

"Little brother," Itachi responded quietly, his Sharingan fading.  "I see you have refuted my advice."

"I’ve hated you for every second of every day.  I’ve lived and trained for my revenge.”

"Even if that were so, you'll never be able to kill me at your level."  That was a fact.  Sasuke knew it logically, but his body didn't seem to care.  Every fiber of his being ached to spring forward and attack, to finally take this chance to avenge his slaughtered clan – to gain justice for his parents' cruel murder.  Logic battled with seething, roiling anger, and it lost.

Dark indigo chakra exploded around Sasuke as he tore forward, heedless of the shouts from his friends and mentor.  The only thing he could think about was ripping Itachi apart, and all he could see was his brother standing in front of him, silently daring him to advance.  The curse mark broke from its binding at Sasuke's will, flaring out and covering his limbs and face.  Malevolent energy burned all around him, and the unbridled fury emanating from the young Uchiha was palpable.  He would use every scrap of power he had, no matter the cost.

Itachi moved to casually turn aside the first powerful punch from Sasuke, shifting his weight to flow out of the way from another that came a fraction of a second later.  Sasuke’s movements could only be seen as a blur, but his brother seemed to move faster and with significantly less effort.  Every action was calculated, like he could see through everything.  At least, he could until Sasuke’s fist smashed into the side of his head.

Kisame and Gai’s fight was interrupted when Itachi collided with his ally, sending them both careening into the water several meters away.  Sasuke stood where his brother had been, along with a clone that was drawing back its fist.  The bunshin had appeared between one blink and the next, blindsiding the missing-nin.

“I didn’t anticipate that you would be able to pull off such a complicated maneuver,” Itachi said as he slowly stood by his grumbling partner.  “You managed to bypass my illusion, use a subtle one of your own to mask your hand seals, and summon a clone in my blind spot.  I’m glad that your potential was not squandered.”  He twitched one of his hands, and several dozen crows flowed from his robe.  A heartbeat later they fell to the ground, each one impaled with a single chakra senbon.  His eyes fell on Hinata, and he tilted his head to one side.  “She’s an interesting one as well.”  A ring of fire sprang up around his and Kisame’s feet just before the water around them froze, leaving two small circles of liquid amid the now icy river.  Haku stood next to Gai, his hands to the water.  Icicles shot from below, but they evaporated as they came close to Itachi’s jutsu.  “He’s not here, Kisame.  I believe we should look elsewhere.”

“And I was just starting to enjoy myself,” the taller man sighed, shouldering his massive weapon.  He swung it once, catching a giant blast of flames from Sasuke and causing it to dissipate almost immediately.  “I suppose if we stay too long things will get a little too interesting, though.”  He grinned and turned his back on the group.  Itachi mirrored him, and then they were simply gone.  The protective flames vanished, and ice quickly invaded the empty circles.

“How dare you run!” Sasuke roared, casting around wildly.  “Come back and fi–!”

“Sasuke,” Kakashi said in a low, dangerous tone.  The Uchiha growled and rounded on the man, but stopped in his tracks when he saw that Hinata and Haku were standing there as well.  The older boy looked worried, and Hinata seemed to share his overt concern.  Gai idled nearby, keeping a careful eye on him.  Sasuke looked down at himself, muttered a few choice words, then closed his eyes and focused.  It took a visible effort, but Orochimaru’s cursed seal gradually receded, the symbols flowing back from his body and into the mark on his neck.  The purple chakra faded, leaving him feeling nauseous.  “You said–”

“I know what I said,” Sasuke snapped, clenching his fists and turning his back to them.  “I couldn’t . . . I couldn’t stop myself.”  Kakashi watched his student for a moment before he nodded, sighing tiredly.

“I know.  We have more pressing concerns right now besides.  Gai,” he continued, turning to his friend, “I need you to tell the Hokage what’s happened.  Tell him that Akatsuki – specifically Kisame and Itachi – are going after Naruto, and that Team Seven is in pursuit.”

“Be careful,” Gai said in an uncharacteristically serious tone.  He bounded away without another word, and Kakashi was already turning towards the east.

“Let’s go; Jiraiya and Naruto will have made it to Shukuba by now.  We’re going to be travelling at top speed.”  There was no time for questions.  Sasuke, Haku, and Hinata fell silently into formation around Kakashi as he took off, and the four of them quickly became blurs that shot through the front gates and into the trees beyond.  Their collective worry was for Naruto, though each had to avoid glancing apprehensively at Sasuke.  Haku’s brow was knitted in concentration, and Hinata was biting hard at her lower lip.  Kakashi’s hitai-ate was still raised, and both eyes were narrowed ahead.  “Priority is securing Naruto and preventing any casualties.  Understand?”  Sasuke said nothing, though his teammates both made affirming sounds.  “Sasuke, is your revenge prioritized over your friends’ lives?”  The boy ground his teeth and still said nothing, but Kakashi had made what point he could.  _Hold out until we get there, Naruto.  We’re on our way._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“This town is weird,” Naruto mused aloud, staring up at a sign that read ‘ _Fun Fun Avenue’_.  “Why are we stopping by a place like . . . this, again?”

“Tsunade could be anywhere,” Jiraiya responded jovially, making his way onto the new street with no small amount of gusto.  “This town is well known for its entertainment, and she’s well known for her gambling.”

“Yeah, you told me that, but . . . This looks like a place for you to do ‘research’, sensei.”  During training before the final chūnin exam, Naruto had sought out Jiraiya to show him that he had mastered the Rasengan, only to find out what the Sannin’s expeditions had really been about.  The memory of the esteemed Sage crouching by a hole in the wall of the women’s bathing area was burned into his mind forever.  “Are we here just so you can do perverted things?”

“Of course not!  Tsunade very well could be here,” he responded defensively.  “If a few beautiful women happen to fall for my charm and good looks while we’re in town, then it is no fault of mine.”

“Uh . . . huh . . .” Naruto sighed.  “How long will it take to look everywhere?”

“Oh it could take all night,” Jiraiya responded, massaging his chin as if seriously considering it.  “We’d better get a room at an inn, just to be safe.  I’ll give you some training exercises to do and I’ll go search for Tsunade.”  When Naruto only gave him a flat look he sighed, turning into a ritzy looking place.  “Naruto, we’re on a special mission for the Sandaime.  Do you think I’d go off and do frivolous things?”

“Probably,” the boy retorted honestly.  “You’re not the most responsible ninja I’ve met.”

“What ever happened to respecting your elders?” the Sannin muttered before paying the innkeeper.  “If I teach you one of your dad’s jutsu, will you cut me some slack?”  Naruto brightened up almost immediately, and Jiraiya grinned.  “Ever wonder why he was called the Yellow Flash?”

“It was because he moved faster than lightning, isn’t it?” the blond said excitedly, following his sensei to their room.  “I knew it was possible, I just didn’t know how!”

“For all intents and purposes, it’s very possible.”  Jiraiya unlocked and opened the door to their room, setting his pack down and stretching.  “Ah, that’s better.  Now, while I’m out looking for Tsunade, I want you to practice something.”  He reached into his satchel, rummaging around for a few seconds before withdrawing a pad of paper, an inkwell, and a brush.

“I thought I was going to be training,” Naruto said, looking at the items dubiously.

“This _is_ training,” Jiraiya huffed, setting the writing utensils down at the desk by the door.  “If I’m going to be teaching you Minato’s signature technique, it’s going to take a lot of work to get you ready to start using it, understand?”  Naruto nodded slowly, shrugging out of his own backpack.  “Good, now have a seat here.

“The jutsu I’m going to be teaching you is called the Hiraishin no Jutsu.  In short, it’s a space-time ninjutsu that allows you to transport yourself from one location to another instantly.  However,” he went on, emphasizing his words.  “Like all space-time abilities, it is extremely dangerous to try it without extensive practice, research, and training first.  If you want to learn this jutsu, you have to promise me right now that you will not try to use it before I give you permission.  I’m serious about this, Naruto; it could kill you.”

“I promise,” Naruto assured, trying to control his anticipation.  Hundreds of applications for such a technique were racing through his mind.  It sounded almost too good to be real.  _That’s my dad._

“Alright then.  The first part is figuring out your personal seal.  The Hiraishin requires that you have a point of reference – a specific location that you’re trying to get to.  This comes in the form of a jutsu formula; it’s a seal, simply put.  But each person’s seal is going to be unique to them.  If more than one person could use the ability, but their seals were the same, then it could get difficult to identify your own reference points.  Still following?”  Naruto nodded eagerly, and Jiraiya couldn’t help but smirk.  “Since that’s the case, you need to create your own seal.  You had classes on jutsu-shiki at the academy, so you should know the symbols at least.  It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but it does have to have meaning to you, and I’d say the simpler the better.”

“So I can make anything I want?” Naruto asked, clearly puzzled.  “If I have to make a formula every time I want to use the technique, isn’t that kinda inconvenient?”

“It would be, if not for the reason that I told you to make it simple.  Watch.”  Jiraiya reached in front of Naruto and placed a finger on the paper, and almost immediately it looked like black ink was leaking from his fingertip.  A few seconds later Naruto was looking down at a small seal, one of three concentric circles with three lines crossing through and intersecting at the center.

“How . . . ?”

“That’s the next part of the training,” Jiraiya continued, nodding to the brush and ink.  “First you need to create your seal.  After that, you’ll need to learn how to create it using your chakra.  That we’ll cover later, though.”

“Why can’t you show me now?  I don’t think it’s going to take long to make a little mark.”

“Don’t take this lightly, Naruto,” he said sternly.  “I said it has to mean something to you so that you can feel a connection to it with your chakra.  You may be able to use the jutsu with any old seal, but using one that you identify with is much more effective.”

“I think I get it,” Naruto said after a moment, staring down at the paper.  “I’ll try to think of a good seal.  Will you teach me to make it like you did later?”

“Of course, but make sure you work hard on it first.  I’ll be back tonight after I’ve searched the town.  Keep the door locked, and don’t answer it unless you hear me give you the password.  You remember what it is?”  Naruto rubbed at his temples, turning a little red.

“‛Naruto’s fiery passion for Hyūga Hinata knows no bounds,’” he mumbled.  Jiraiya let out a hearty laugh before bidding him farewell.  Naruto locked the door behind him, shaking his head at the ridiculous password his instructor had come up with.  “It was just a kiss on her cheek.  Dunno why he has to tease me about it all day . . .” He grumbled some more before dropping back into the chair, trying to clear his mind and focus on the task at hand.  “Something with meaning . . .”

Nearly an hour later Naruto had made little progress.  Crumpled balls of paper lay scattered around the room, covered front and back by innumerable sigils, scripts, and designs.  He was on the last page of the notepad, tapping the end of his calligraphy brush against the inkwell when a knock sounded at the door.  _Probably housekeeping; I doubt he’s back this early._   “Who is it?”  Surprisingly, Jiraiya’s muffled voice came from the other side of the door.

“It’s me; open the door kid.”

“Password?”

“Naruto’s fiery passion for Hinata knows no bounds.”  Naruto blinked, then stood up to unlock the door.  The moment it was open a hand shot through, grabbing his neck and lifting him from the ground.  He gasped and struggled, clawing at the offending limb.  Two strange shinobi stood on the other side of the door, wearing matching cloaks and looking dangerous.

“You got the password wrong,” Kisame sighed at Itachi, stepping past the struggling boy.  “He’s already gone.”

“The Sannin’s mind was closely guarded,” Itachi replied calmly, crushing his victim’s neck.  The fake Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke.  The room was empty, and the window on the far wall was open.  “Let’s go.”

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

 _Akatsuki,_ Naruto grunted, speeding over the rooftops.  _Those are the cloaks that Jiraiya-sensei warned me about._

**_Aye.  You’re lucky he got your girlfriend’s name wrong, else we may have already been captured.  If they’re as skilled as we’ve been told, though, you don’t have long before they catch up._ **

_I know.  By the way, what’s with this ‘we’ thing you’ve got going on?_

**_There are two of us here,_** Kurama stated wryly.  **_I hear everything you’re told, too._**

_Uhuh.  Anyway, I’ll just head to that street and start looking in the gambling places._

**_He won’t be there.  Find the red light district._ **

_But he said_ _–_

**_Kid, trust me on this one.  This is Jiraiya we’re talking about, and I’ve known his habits longer than you have.  Kushina used to scold him for being the lecher that he is.  Do you really think he’s going to pass up on the chance to get some_ ** **_–?_ **

_Okay, okay, I’m going.  I’m going to need to have a talk with him about that._ The Kyūbi snorted before settling back to wait in the recesses of Naruto’s mind.

Shukuba wasn’t very difficult to navigate, especially from the rooftops.  There was one main avenue that held the inns that the town was famous for, and then only a handful of other populated streets.  The moment Naruto spotted a sign that read ‘ _The Traveler’s Pleasure’_ , he knew that he was in the right place.  It was then, however, that something huge and jagged smashed into his side.

With a pained gasp Naruto was knocked from the air and sent crashing into the side of the nearest building.  He managed to correct his course and hit the wall with his feet, splintering the wood but keeping his footing.  Blood dripped steadily from a fresh wound, and while it wasn’t deep there were at least a dozen punctures around his ribcage.

“Careful not to kill him, Kisame,” Itachi chided as they appeared on the street below, his eyes on Naruto.  “Jinchūriki Uzumaki Naruto – I will ask only once: surrender without resistance, or we will resort to lethal force.”

 _So they don’t want me dead.  That’s comforting._   Naruto’s skin was already sealing over the injury from Kisame’s sword.  He quickly assumed a low taijutsu stance, facing the pair below.

**_They’re after my power, remember?  They can’t have it if you’re dead._ **

_I guess that works in our favor, right?_   Naruto almost grinned, but he was too busy tapping into the Kyūbi’s chakra.  He pulled as much as he could, the cloak springing to life around him immediately.  The two tails twitched restlessly behind him, a third continuously half-forming and dispersing every few seconds.  _You’d better feel this, sensei._

“I believe you’re best suited for this,” Itachi offered to his partner, who gladly stepped forward.

“Samehada says that his chakra tastes interesting.  Let’s shave off a little of that shroud at a time, shall we?”  The few pedestrians nearby screamed and fled as Kisame charged, brandishing his gigantic sword.  Naruto kicked off of the wall, rocketing away as fast as he could.  The Kyūbi’s chakra allowed him to move at incredible speeds, but his pursuer was swifter.  Kisame swung Samehada, timing his own leap and the swing to catch the boy’s ankles.  Naruto pulled his knees up and summersaulted, landing on the roof opposite his starting point and bounding away at a breakneck pace.

 ** _That blade grazed your foot,_** Kurama growled.  **_It took a chunk of my chakra with it, which explains what he said; Samehada must be the name of the sword._**

 _Great, so it eats chakra._ Naruto spared a glance towards his foot as he flew through the city, noting that there was a section of the chakra cloak missing that was taking far too long to refill.  _So don’t get hit by that._

**_It’s generally considered a bad idea to get hit with swords, yes, but this one especially._ **

_Of all the times to be a smartass._   He kicked off of another building, spinning and racing through hand seals.  _Fūton: Vacuum Sphere._ Bolts of air shot towards the two chasing him, though they may as well not have been there for all they slowed the Akatsuki members down.  The distance between them was closing rapidly, but Naruto could see the edge of the village ahead now.  _Just a little further._

He cleared the last building a moment later, continuing another few dozen meters before making his move.  There was no way to escape two S-rank missing-nin, he knew, so his best option would be to survive until Jiraiya got there.  Naruto sped forward, disappearing into the forest.  Out of sight for only a few seconds, he grit his teeth and caught hold of a branch, using his momentum to spin around it and send himself flying back in the direction he had come from.  A clone accompanied him now, and an instant later Itachi and Kisame burst through the canopy.

“Rasengan!” Naruto bellowed in unison with the bunshin.  The two spheres of concentrated chakra reached their targets at the same time, leaving little room for either of them to dodge.  Their reactions were incredible, however, and it was easy to see why these two shinobi were so feared.  Kisame intercepted the clone’s Rasengan with Samehada, and even though the chakra was absorbed he was thrown off course by the impact.  Naruto’s attack hit Itachi directly in the chest, but the Uchiha’s body erupted in a cloud of smoke as soon as it made contact.  The real Itachi soared past, having created and switched places with his Shadow Clone in less time than Naruto could even process the realization.

 _This is bad,_ Naruto muttered internally as he landed on the forest floor, whirling to face his enemies.  _I can’t outrun them._

**_Then you’re going to have to fight with everything you have._ **

_If you haven’t noticed, they’ve handled everything I’ve done like it was nothing.  They’re so fast I can hardly keep track of them._

**_I said_ everything _you have, Naruto._**

_You can’t be serious._ Itachi and Kisame landed a ways in front of him, the latter readying himself for another round.  _You only told that was possible last week, and you think I should just do it without ever trying it before._

 ** _No, that’d be foolish,_** he said mildly.  **_Just put me in control, and I’ll do it._**

 _What?!  Are you joking?!_ Kisame blurred and came at him, moving with startling agility and precision for someone with such a large weapon.  It was all that Naruto could do to stay out of the path of the blade, but even that wasn’t enough.  Here and there bits of Kurama’s chakra were eaten away, and if he wasn’t mistaken the sword seemed to be growing larger.

 ** _There aren’t any serious repercussions, and you’re outmatched here.  They’re both faster than you, this one is far better at taijutsu than you, and Itachi could kill you with his Sharingan and make it look like child’s play.  I’ll return you to your consciousness after the fight, however it turns out; I’m not even sure it will be enough, but it’s your best bet._**   Naruto remained in a tense silence for a time, and it wasn’t until a slash from Samehada took out a large swath of chakra from his chest that he relented.

_Fine, do it!_

Giving Kurama control of his body came with an odd sensation.  One moment he was flipping back to avoid a feinted kick, and in the next the world seemed to be collapsing into a circle at the center of his vision.  Once everything settled, it felt like he was watching the scene through frosted glass from far away, though he was still able to make out what was going on.

“Kisame, back,” Itachi warned, though not in time to stop his ally from taking one last swing with Samehada.  Instead of trying to avoid it, however, Naruto stood his ground and reached up to intercept the blow.  He _caught_ the blade – with one hand.

“What the–” Kisame growled, trying to rip the sword away.  It wouldn’t budge.  A wicked grin spread across Naruto’s shadowed features, and when he looked up the man balked.  The boy’s eyes were empty white spheres, practically glowing with a light of their own.  His skin began peeling away, large pieces simply tearing off and disintegrating.  A dark, dense layer of chakra coursed underneath, and after a few seconds it enveloped him completely.  It was completely unlike the lighter red-orange of the Kyūbi’s cloak.  This was of the deepest reds, and it flowed over him like a living entity, covering his clothes and becoming an extension of his body.  When it finally settled, the thing holding Kisame’s sword was no longer Uzumaki Naruto.  It was a being of pure chakra, with malevolent white eyes and a body and limbs elongated to resemble the tailed beast within.  Three fully formed tails swished behind him, eager for what was to come.

 _“Greetings, Akatsuki.”_ Kurama’s voice was grating and distorted through Naruto’s vocal chords, but it was unmistakably his.  _“Time to even the odds a little.”_   He flicked his wrist, and the simple action sent Kisame and his sword skidding across the forest floor.  The man slammed into a tree with a grunt, glaring at the transformed jinchūriki.

“It seems our information was flawed,” Itachi reasoned. “I will assist you in capturing him.”

 _“Best of luck.”_ Without warning Naruto lurched forward, limbs stretching impossibly and shooting out to rake at his opponents.  His tails followed suit, their sizes distorting and flailing to the sides as his enemies narrowly avoided the first attack.  One caught Itachi and sent him crashing to the ground, while the other was deflected by Kisame.  The third channeled a pinprick of chakra and launched it at the swordsman.  The miniscule Bijūdama exploded on contact with Samehada, sending its bearer flying through the nearest tree and smashing into the next.  _“S-rank criminals ought to put on a better show.”_

“Suiton: Water Shockwave!” Kisame shouted.  An enormous surge of water burst into the air from where he had fallen, flowing over the area in seconds.  The technique flattened the surrounding landscape, trees and all.

“Suiton: Weighted Water,” Itachi murmured.  “Suiton: Water Fang.”  Kurama’s ersatz body became heavy and sluggish, even more so than it should have been in the water.  In seconds he was being bombarded by jets and spirals of water from every direction.  Sharks appeared out of nowhere, circling in and attempting to rip at his limbs.

 _“Pitiful.”_ Raw power blasted outward, destroying the summoned sharks and creating a small crater below.  The water churned and rushed outward, and the resulting flood flattened another broad section of woodland.  Kurama landed on the ruined ground in front of his adversaries, floating atop the forest-turned-swamp.

“We’re not getting very far fighting this way, Itachi,” Kisame sighed.  The Kyūbi’s eyes narrowed as he shifted Samehada to his left hand.  The handle writhed and snaked up his arm, disappearing into his sleeve.  “Combating a monster requires that we become monsters as well.”  Kisame’s skin paled further before it began stretching and distorting.  Samehada crept up his arm, sinking into his skin and becoming one with the increasingly shark-like ninja.

“I agree.  We should end this quickly.”  The tomoe of Itachi’s Sharingan merged with the pupil, forming his Mangekyō.  “Susano’o.”  Pale yellow chakra wrapped around the Uchiha, swiftly surrounding him and spreading outward.  An ethereal ribcage coalesced around Itachi’s body, and from it spawned a skeletal head and arms made from the same amber energy.  The newly created chakra being loomed five or six times its summoner’s height, and its hollow eye sockets glowed a bright gold.

“Excellent.” Kisame brought his hands together in a ram seal, taking in a deep breath.  _Suiton: Great Water_ _–”_ For the second time that day he was knocked from his feet, and he grunted as yet another tree was felled by his spinning body.  A long tongue lashed back from whence it came, retracting into the mouth of a toad that landed next to Kurama.

“Sorry I’m late,” Jiraiya yawned, rubbing at the back of his neck.  A bit of color in his cheeks indicated that he was already a little intoxicated.  “I was investigating a place on the other side of town.  What’s with the new look?”

 _“Bullshit,”_ Kurama growled, not taking his eyes from the Akatsuki members.  _“And Naruto can tell you about it after we deal with them.”_   The Sannin tensed as he realized what had happened, and he sobered almost immediately.  Itachi’s Susano’o and Kisame’s transformation were enough to worry about without considering the Kyūbi taking over Naruto’s mind.

“This gets more troublesome by the minute,” Kisame scowled, cracking his neck and eyeing the large toad Jiraiya stood upon.  “Were the others this difficult?”

“You handle Jiraiya.  I’ll get the jinchūriki,” Itachi said shortly, starting to look annoyed.  Before he could make a move, however, he was forced to use Susano’o to guard himself against a barrage of lightning, fire, ice, and bolts of chakra that appeared out of nowhere.  Kakashi, Sasuke, Haku, and Hinata landed a beat later on Naruto’s other side, all crouched and ready for a second round.  “Tsk.”

“They swarm like insects,” Kisame grinned, lifting himself from the ground.  He hadn’t avoided the attacks, but the many wounds that had been caused by the brief flurry were already almost gone.  “Samehada would like to thank you for the feast.  Still . . .” He trailed off, making a show of counting the number of opponents.  “A Sannin, a jinchūriki, the Copy Ninja, and three more annoying runts – six against two is hardly fair.  Itachi?”  The elder Uchiha said nothing, his eyes locked on those of his brother.  The light from Susano’o quickly diminished, and after a moment Itachi’s Sharingan faded altogether.

“Never rest at ease, Uzumaki Naruto,” he cautioned, turning his back to the group in a grand display of nonchalance.  “Nor you, Kyūbi no Kitsune.”

“Itachi!” Sasuke yelled, springing forward as he had the time before.  Kisame laughed, pivoting to follow after his partner.  A bright orange light flared in Sasuke’s right palm as he lunged at Itachi’s back, but the instant before he would have made contact the two were gone.  The boy landed hard, sending muddy water spraying in every direction as he howled at the empty horizon.  His rage rapidly turned into agony, and he fell to his knees only to slam his fist into the ground.  The flames that had been flickering in his hand erupted to one side, incinerating the closest tree stump and sending a cloud of steam billowing into the air.  He stayed like that, fingers digging into the ground as he fought with his fury and anguish.

 _“Naruto says to go ahead,”_ Kurama sighed in a low, guttural growl.  Haku and Hinata started at the disturbing, almost disembodied voice.  _“He’ll be there shortly.”_   They each recognized the Kyūbi’s tone, nodded, and then moved to Sasuke’s side.

“Care to tell me what form you’ve taken on?” Jiraiya asked, dismissing his summon and landing beside the transformed Naruto.

 _“The cloak of chakra wasn’t enough to keep him alive against these two until help arrived,”_ the Fox stated plainly, lowering himself to the ground cross-legged.  _“He’s not capable of using this form without going instantly berserk, so he relinquished control to me for the time being.”_

“You two can just . . . switch whenever you feel like it now?” Kakashi seemed genuinely perplexed, and almost affronted.  It was just too strange an idea.

 _“For the most part.  Something changed about the seal after Suna’s invasion, and it seems I can take a more active role now.  And no,”_ he continued, closing his eyes and beginning to concentrate.  _“I can’t come out fully again.  Not yet, at least.”_ Kurama’s cryptic words left Jiraiya and Kakashi feeling a little uneasy, but there were more pressing concerns for the time being.  The flowing red chakra receded slowly into Naruto, revealing his body again.  It was a jarring sight, to say the least.  While his features were normal, his skin took a moment to start regrowing.

 _This . . . hurts,_ Naruto groaned, grinding his teeth.

**_I warned you.  Better to regrow some skin than be captured, though._ **

_I guess so.  Thanks, Kurama._   A satisfied growl was the Kyūbi’s only response.  After a long and very painful few seconds, Naruto finally opened his eyes.  He didn’t even look aside at either of his sensei.  Instead he rose and rushed over to his friend, concern evident in his expression.

“We weren’t fast enough,” Sasuke was saying when Naruto arrived.  He was still on his hands and knees, staring at the ground as if lost.

“We got here as quickly as we could, Sasuke,” Haku soothed, one hand on his friend’s shoulder.  Hinata knelt beside him, heedless of the mud soiling her clothes.

“We got here in time,” she said softly, touching his arm.  “If we hadn’t arrived when we did, Naruto might have already been taken.”

“You guys really did save my ass there.” Naruto walked to his friends, giving Hinata a small smile before crouching in front of Sasuke.  He extended his hand to where it could be seen by the other boy.  “Sasuke . . .”

“Don’t say it,” the Uchiha ground out, holding back bitter tears.  “Don’t.”  He reached up and gripped Naruto’s hand hard, remaining like that for a time.  They stood together, slowly regaining their feet and allowing Sasuke to take several deep, shuddering breaths.  Naruto nodded, and as soon as he let his hand go Hinata ducked in and nearly tackled Sasuke with a tight hug.

“I promise we’ll get him, Sasuke,” she mumbled.  He nodded dully, barely able to lift his arms and return the embrace.  Naruto put on his best encouraging smile, reaching over Hinata to place a hand on his shoulder.  He still said nothing, but he hoped the action would speak for him.  Haku rested a hand on his back, and the four of them stood like that for a long while.  Jiraiya and Kakashi remained silent, allowing their students necessary time together.  The process of healing was one that would never end, but at least they had each other.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“We’re staying with Naruto,” Sasuke said flatly from his spot against the wall.  “I think it’s been proven already that it’s dangerous for him to be away from the village; Akatsuki won’t hesitate even with a Sannin nearby.”

“And you think adding three more kids is going to deter them?” Jiraiya questioned, raising a dubious eyebrow.  “I won’t deny that all of you are very talented, and you’ll make fine jōnin one day, but none of you are even near their level yet.  They were prepared to take on me _and_ Naruto in his Kyūbi form _– at the same time_.”

“Two kids,” Kakashi corrected, nodding towards Haku.  “I need Haku to assist me back in Konoha.”

“Great, two genin then.  Kakashi, you know that this is a foolish idea.”

“With all due respect, I believe it to be a wise one.”  Kakashi looked hard at Jiraiya before gazing around at his three original students.  “They may not be able to take on these threats on their own just yet, but they will always be stronger together than when apart.  Don’t underestimate my students.”  Jiraiya thought about arguing, but the other jōnin had one good point at least.  Once they were further from Konoha it would take much longer for help to reach them; they would essentially be alone.  Even if they weren’t yet fully developed ninja, they were strong in their own right.

“Fine,” the Sage huffed, shaking his head and turning for the door.  “I need to search the rest of the village before it gets too late.  We’re leaving early tomorrow morning for Tanzaku if I don’t find Tsunade here.”  He was gone before anybody else could get a word out.

“What’re you drawing, Naruto?” Hinata asked, peering over his shoulder curiously.  Naruto had picked up the brush as soon as Jiraiya had departed, and seemed very intent on his task.  He leaned back from the last sheet of paper, which was still entirely blank save for a small seal at its center.

“Kakashi-sensei gave me an idea,” he said proudly.  His grin was a tad sheepish as he turned to present the parchment to the room.  They all stared blankly at it, not sure what to make of the unexplained symbols.  Naruto rolled his eyes and pointed to each part, explaining it as he went.  “See, the Leaf symbol is here in the middle, then these three lines of jutsu-shiki make a triangle around it, and the spiral connects them all and focuses on the center.  It’s Team Seven, get it?”

“That’s surprisingly insightful, Naruto,” Kakashi said, the area around his visible eye crinkling in a hidden smirk.

“Hey, it took me a long time to come up with it!”

“I like it,” Hinata put in, and Naruto flashed her an appreciative smile.

“It’s neat, but what’s it do?” Sasuke asked, still examining the seal.  Naruto gave him a cheeky grin and flourished the paper.

“It lets me move faster than lightning!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks; hope you’ve all had a good last week/week times 1.5. I got a bit dizzy from all of the stuff going on in this chapter, but hopefully I got it done without confusing anybody.
> 
> Notes: Itachi’s Susano’o is yellow because that’s the color it was in the manga originally, rather than the red in the anime. It also makes it easier to write color differences between things, seeing as Naruto is like lord of all things vermilion. Aside from that, there are no real things to mention, except to lament at how difficult it is writing in the trio’s strength relative to Akatsuki members. At the moment they’re all extremely strong relative to their previous classmates, and outrank most/all chūnin at the village in terms of raw power/skill. But when it comes to fighting A-rank or S-rank ninja, I believe I wrote their abilities in appropriately for where they’re at.
> 
> Less important notes: Rhi and I edited and retitled Chapter 1 over this last week as well. Nothing content-wise changed, but my writing a few months ago was much less polished overall, and we didn’t have quite the extensive editing process we do today. I’m also going through and changing certain Japanese terms and names to their correct romanized forms, i.e. ‘jounin’ is now ‘jōnin’, ‘Hyuuga’ is now ‘Hyūga’, etc. I know adding proper macrons isn’t a big deal, but I have a thing for correctness!
> 
> I’d like to thank ~~the Academy~~ everybody for reading, following, favoriting, and especially for reviewing up until this point. I found an artist recently who I have commissioned a few pieces from, and I have a special one to give to the folks that’ve been loyal reviewers. Love you guys.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> \- Wes


	21. Old Scars

“I got it, sensei!” Naruto chirped, beaming as he ran up and presented a smooth rock to Jiraiya.  Most of the palm-sized stone was blotched with what could have been ink, though on closer inspection it would reveal itself to be a kind of charring.  In one of the few clear spots, however, the boy’s Hiraishin symbol was plainly visible.

“Oh-ho!”  The old Sage plucked the rock from his student’s hand, examining it closely for a moment before nodding.  “I didn’t expect you to figure it out this fast, considering your ah . . . experience with chakra control and manipulation.”  Naruto grinned at him, lacing his fingers behind his head and looking pleased with himself.  “How’re you two faring?”

“Wonderfully,” Sasuke muttered, tossing a blackened stone over his shoulder.

“I think I’m getting better . . .” Hinata said none-too confidently, scratching at the surface of her own now pitch-colored rock.  “Maybe . . .” She sighed and dropped it behind their shared bench.  _Who am I kidding?_

“You two did insist on coming along,” Jiraiya pointed out smugly, taking a second to pull the last dango from the slender stick he was holding.  “You asked to be a part of this mission, training and all, and I’m not going to think up individual curricula.  Besides, it’s not _that_ difficult.”

“We’ve been carrying these since we left Shukuba,” Sasuke sighed, reaching into his pack and withdrawing another to practice on.  “Nothing against Naruto, but it’s kind of strange that he’s better at this than we are.  Are you sure you explained it right?”  Naruto cut in before Jiraiya could respond, looking a little embarrassed.

“Sorry, Sasuke; for some reason it just made sense to me.”

“You don’t have to apologize for that, Naruto,” Hinata said with a small smile, shaking her head.  “I’m not surprised, seeing as it was your father’s technique.”  That elicited a broad grin from the blond.

“That may be part of it, but I doubt it’s the sole issue.”  Jiraiya stood and stretched, glancing at the roadside dango shop as if considering a second round.  “Naruto does have a knack for learning things quickly, even things he isn’t naturally gifted with.  I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

“He is pretty horrible at genjutsu,” Sasuke reasoned, thinking back on their training, “And he was able to make pretty good progress on Kakashi-sensei’s training in only a few days.”

“Each time we come up with a new jutsu, as long as it isn’t a strong water or lightning technique, he perfects it first.  These days, at least,” Hinata put in, considering that information for a time.  At one time, abilities such as the Wind Whispering jutsu would have taken Naruto a while to learn because of their tight chakra control requirements.  Ever since training with Jiraiya in the chūnin exams, however, his precision had improved by leaps and bounds.

“Exactly.  But I still don’t think that’s the problem; you two are pretty fast at picking things up, too.”  Sasuke gave him a flat look, and Hinata looked hopefully to the Sannin.  “C’mon – let’s get moving.  We need to arrive in Tanzaku before dusk.”  They quickly finished their remaining dango before rising to follow, waiting for him to continue.

“I think it has to do with the seals you thought up,” Jiraiya went on, squinting down the dirt path.  “Can you explain them to me again?”  Sasuke and Hinata looked at one another, and after she nodded to him he shrugged.

“The Uchiha clan symbol with a Sharingan worked into it, drawn with jutsu-shiki.  The symbols for the five elements are all around it, connected to form a pentagon.”  He shrugged again, glancing at Hinata for her description.  There was a light flush on her cheeks even before she began to speak.

“Mine is the Whirlpool insignia, with the Hyūga crest at its center.  There’s a circle around the spiral, and every ninety degrees around it I put a symbol for something: strength, determination, compassion, and loyalty.”

“Do those things mean a lot to you both?” Jiraiya asked mildly.  He glanced back to see them both nod assuredly.  “But do they mean enough?”  Sasuke raised his eyebrow, and Hinata looked a touch perplexed.  “I told you that they had to have real meaning to you personally, or it would be a lot harder to form them.

“Sasuke, I understand the purpose of yours, but is your pride as an Uchiha enough?”  The boy bristled at that, but he said nothing.  Jiraiya knew that it was a low blow, especially after what had happened the day before.  “I realize that it’s a significant part of you, but I don’t think it defines you enough to merit the design.

“Hinata, I also understand why you chose your seal.  After all, Naruto’s passion for–”

“S-sensei!” Naruto sputtered, turning redder than Hinata.  The Sage smirked at him and winked, but kindly edited his statement.

“Ahem, I mean . . . I know that you’ve recently returned to your clan, and that Konoha shares deep ties with the Whirlpool – and that you personally share deep ties with the Whirlpool.”  He couldn’t help himself.  Hinata and Naruto blushed, and Sasuke coughed to hide a bout of mirth.  “But just as in Sasuke’s case, I don’t think that defines you very well.  The inspiring sigils around the circle are a nice touch, but they’re too general.”  She and Sasuke knitted their brows for a moment, considering his words.  “Naruto, why don’t you explain yours?  I don’t think you have yet, come to think of it.”

“It’s just Team Seven,” he shrugged, touching his finger to a new stone.  His personal symbol flowed into existence, taking up most of the available space.  “Each of the lines in the triangle represent one of us: Hinata, Sasuke, and me.  As friends we always protect each other, and as a team we protect Konoha.”  He pointed at the center Leaf symbol, tracing the spiral outward until he reached one side of the triangle.  “The Whirlpool thing is for my mom; I figured that she should be a part of it, since it’s my dad’s jutsu.”  Jiraiya nodded, giving him a little smile.

“Now _that_ means something to you.  It’s a very simple design, which makes it easier to create, but each bit contains something of personal significance.  I’m not going to try and tell you what to make with your seals,” he continued to the group at large, “But think hard about yourselves and your identities.  Why do you wake up every day?  What are your goals?  Such questions should be answered in the making of your seals.”

“Does yours have anything to do with perverted stuff, sensei?” Naruto teased with a sly smirk.  Jiraiya was not amused.  Hinata and Sasuke remained silent as the old man scolded their teammate, both deep in thought.  This wasn’t the type of training they were used to.  Normally all that was required was a hand seal and some chakra molding, and even when inventing their own jutsu they had followed a similar procedure to discover the best method of casting it.  Having to pour their passions into creating a small seal was odd indeed.

“Anyway,” Jiraiya growled, removing his pack and sifting through its contents as he walked.  “Either keep going with what you have, or spend the rest of today thinking up a new seal.  That’s up to you.  For _you,_ Naruto,” he continued, withdrawing a length of leather from the bag.  It looked to be some kind of makeshift pouch, and though he was obviously still agitated he handed it reverently to Naruto.  “Get used to these.”

“Eh?”  The blond held it with a curious expression, carefully unraveling the cord that wrapped around the pouch.  Once free of its binding the case flapped open.  It was as it had appeared: a simple, broad leather strip with three pockets sewn into it.  Contained in each pouch was an odd looking kunai, looking almost like a dagger with a bladed guard above the grip.  Their handles were wrapped with dyed leather instead of the traditional cord.  “What’re these?”

“They’re kunai that Minato invented,” Jiraiya explained, enjoying the surprised and elated look on his student’s face.  “I had some made for you before we left.  I want you to mark the handles with your seal, but don’t do any more than that.”  Naruto nodded excitedly before concentrating, carefully touching each kunai’s grip with the tip of his finger.  His sigil appeared on each, conforming to the curved structures and wrapping halfway around the handles.

“What now?” he asked, hefting one of the weapons and peering curiously at it.

“Nothing.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing,” Jiraiya repeated, slipping his pack on and making his way nonchalantly down the road.  “We’re not going to practice space-time jutsu while we’re traveling.  It’s dangerous enough while stationary.  Just get used to how they feel, and use the trees as target practice while we walk.”

“Alright,” Naruto sighed, spinning one of the kunai on his finger.  He thought for a second, glanced aside at his friends, then passed one to each of them.  Hinata blinked and gave him a questioning look, but Sasuke only flipped the knife once before tossing it into the nearest tree.  “You guys will get it soon too, and there are three.  We might as well all practice!”  Hinata smiled appreciatively before joining Naruto and Sasuke with target practice.  They made up targets as they walked, throwing and retrieving the kunai one at a time.  All the while Jiraiya kept watch, musing to himself about the team’s antics.

_They really are something._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Tanzaku came into view just as the sun was dipping behind the horizon.  The castle loomed ahead, casting a shadow that nearly consumed the town splayed out below.  The city was contained within a sizeable perimeter wall, though its scale paled in comparison to Konoha’s defenses.  Overall it appeared to be a comfortable place, nestled quietly among the foothills of the nearby mountains.

“Just as I remember it,” Jiraiya commented idly as they descended into the valley.  He glanced back at his charges, who were all still walking together behind him.  Naruto was playing with his kunai, by now completely used to its weight and feel.  Sasuke and Hinata paced beside him holding familiar pads of paper.  Every now and then one of them would start drawing out a new seal with a charcoal pencil, though most of the time it ended with a shake of their head or a sigh.  _They’ll figure it out._

“Sensei, how many towns do you think we’ll have to look in?” Naruto asked as they reached the city’s gates.  A few guards eyed them warily as they passed.

“There aren’t too many places Tsunade would be, assuming that she’s still in Fire Country, and I don’t think she would leave.”  He continued through the thinning streets like he knew where he was going, winding from one to the next until they reached a more crowded part of town.  “She travels around, borrowing money to gamble wherever she can, and there aren’t a lot of places left for her to go that aren’t full of debt collectors.”

“Do all of the Sannin have sketchy habits?”  Jiraiya gave the boy a look of feigned hurt at that.

“I write cultured novels that require extensive research on the female form,” the Sage embellished, earning him a flat look from Hinata before she went back to her paper.  “Lady Tsunade merely indulges in a harmless pastime, and you are hardly old enough to judge her for it.”  Naruto made a face and went back to examining the shops and various other establishments.

Jiraiya led them to an inn first, where they dropped off their packs before returning to the streets.  Sasuke and Hinata had purchased new gear to stand in for what they had left in Konoha, but their packs were mostly filled with rocks and they were glad to be relieved of them.

“You all have your communicators, right?” Jiraiya asked, tapping his ear.  The trio of genin nodded together.  “Good.  If you find Tsunade – or if you run into trouble – let everybody know your location.  Do not engage any threats without my permission, and _do not_ approach Tsunade without me either.  You could end up dead.”  Naruto thought he was joking at first, but his serious expression said otherwise.

“Jiraiya-sensei,” Hinata started, looking a little worried, “Why would speaking to her be dangerous?”

“Have you three ever seen that Haruno girl punch the Inuzuka kid?”  The three of them blinked at his inquiry, and then blanched a moment later.  “Exactly.  Tsunade has a temper, and monstrous strength to back it up.  She also enjoys her sake, so her being drunk wouldn’t help you in that regard.  Understand?”  They nodded quickly, now beginning to wonder what they had signed up for.  “Good.  Here’s a picture of her.  If you don’t find anything, meet back here in three hours.”  He handed a small photograph to Naruto, who examined it for a few seconds before scratching thoughtfully at the back of his neck.

“Ano, sensei,” Naruto began, glancing aside at Hinata and Sasuke.  “Did you want us to split up and look, or . . .”

“No, you three can stick together and search.  I need to–”

“I’ll go with him,” Sasuke interjected, falling into step next to the already retreating Sannin.  “That’s not a problem, is it sensei?”  The Uchiha’s placid features may as well have been openly mocking the old man.

“. . . Of course not,” Jiraiya responded evenly, suppressing a glower.  “Naruto, Hinata – stick together and cover what places you can that way.  And don’t go sneaking off to get frisky, either.”

“Yes, sensei,” the couple chimed together, already locking hands and turning to do as he had instructed.  “That was pretty funny,” Naruto chuckled after they were out of earshot.

“Sasuke’s just making sure he stays on task,” Hinata said.  “I didn’t expect Jiraiya-sensei to be so . . . openly lecherous.”

“I guess that’s just his quirk,” he shrugged.

“You’d better not go picking up bad habits from him,” she teased, giving his hand a squeeze.  “He may be your teacher, but I’m your . . . your . . .”

“Girlfriend?” Naruto offered, winking sideways at her.  Hinata flushed lightly, though she nodded and smiled nonetheless.  “I know you don’t really like those terms, but they’re only really important for other people, you know?”  She nodded again, and after a moment he added, “And I’m not gonna pick up any of _those_ habits from Jiraiya-sensei, I promise.”

They soon found that Tanzaku seemed to have more places to gamble than it had residences.  Almost every other establishment advertised some form of the vice.  Hinata used her Byakugan to scan through each one, as most wouldn’t allow ‘children’ inside.  Naruto contented himself with watching the streets, which seemed to be growing more crowded now that darkness had settled in.  One thing Jiraiya had inadvertently taught him was that ‘entertainment’ businesses got more crowded the longer the night went on.

“Still nothing?” he asked.  They had nearly reached the two hour mark, and thus far Tsunade had not been sighted.  They hadn’t heard a peep through the communicators, either.  Hinata shook her head, deactivating her Byakugan with a sigh.

“I haven’t seen her,” she replied tiredly, rubbing at her temples.  “I’m sorry; it’s hard to focus.  I wish we could go in and look.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Naruto chided gently, turning with her to head back to their inn.  “ _I’m_ sorry that you have to strain yourself . . .” He trailed off as the receiver in his ear crackled to life, Sasuke’s voice coming through a beat later.

_“Oy, I need some help over here.”_

“Akatsuki?” Hinata asked urgently, catching Naruto’s eye as they broke into a trot.

 _“No, just . . . Jiraiya-sensei.  We’re a few streets north of the rendezvous point, at the . . .”_ There was a moment of embarrassed hesitation that neither of them failed to catch.  _“. . . The Master’s Castle.”_ Naruto groaned, and Hinata turned a brilliant shade of red.

“We’ll be right there,” he muttered in response.  To Hinata, he said, “He’s going to get a serious talk when we get back to the room.”

A few minutes later they arrived at the building, met by a disgusted-looking Sasuke.  Raucous laughter came in bursts through the open door, along with a chorus of exaggerated giggles.

“I thought you were going to watch him,” Naruto sighed as they approached.

“What was I supposed to do?” Sasuke quipped, scowling back at the place. “He said he was going to ‘pop in’ and ask if anybody had seen her, and these guys won’t let me in after him.”  He gestured to the two tough looking bouncers positioned by the door.  “I’d knock them out, but I don’t want to make a scene; we’re supposed to keep low profiles.”

“I’ll get him.”  Before his friends could argue, he vanished in a blur.  A few seconds later a perfect copy of Iruka strolled out of a nearby alley, determinedly heading for the door.  As expected, the ‘guards’ let him pass without a second glance.

“Welcome to your castle, master!” The woman that greeted him flashed a gleaming white smile, immediately taking one arm and escorting him further in.  Naruto did his best to keep a blush from his face as he allowed her to press against his side.  “Would you like one of our private rooms today?”

“No, I’m here to meet a friend,” he said, trying to keep calm and mentally patting himself on the back for not stuttering.  “An older man, with long, spiky white hair?”

“Oh, Jiraiya-dono!” she laughed, turning down a hallway.  “Of course, I’ll take you to his room!”  Naruto muttered his thanks as he was practically pushed through a noren and into a fairly lavish room beyond.  As soon as he passed the divider he wrinkled his nose and closed one eye.  He tried not to inhale the strong smell of alcohol or see too much of the scantily clad women sitting with Jiraiya.  The old man was flushed and laughing on a plush couch at the center of the room, one arm around a particularly well-proportioned young woman and the other hand holding a bottle of sake.

“Oh-ho, Iruka!” he chortled, beckoning to Naruto.  “Come in; it’s on me tonight!”  Naruto covered his face with one hand, shaking his head and giving each girl an apologetic look before addressing Jiraiya.

“You’re late for your meeting, sensei,” he scolded in his best imitation of Iruka.  “It’s time to go.”

“Go?  But you only just got here!  Stay for a while!”  He laughed again, taking a long pull from the bottle.  Naruto rolled his eyes.  He stepped over to grab the man by his collar, then literally dragged him from the sofa and out to the storefront.  Jiraiya’s drunken protests didn’t bother him, and he didn’t feel bad for taking his teacher’s money pouch and leaving a devastating sum of ryō behind.

“Let’s get back to the room,” Naruto sighed, still dragging Jiraiya behind him.  After passing the bouncers he had transformed back, causing the pair of toughs to balk and blink confusedly at one another.  Sasuke grunted and leaned down to get his shoulder under Jiraiya’s arm; Naruto begrudgingly mirrored him after a moment, deciding that it would be easier to let the old man try to support his own weight.

“Aw c’mon,” he slurred, whining piteously to his escorts.  “I was jush’t havin’ fun.”

“Is this normal for him?” Sasuke asked, agitated.

“More or less,” Naruto said flatly.  It was clear that he didn’t want to talk about it, and neither Hinata nor Sasuke spoke the rest of the way back to their room.  Jiraiya wasn’t really their instructor, and as such the two of them felt significantly less ashamed than Naruto.  That wasn’t even considering that the man was his godfather, and the only living family he had left.  Iruka was his father as much as Sasuke was his brother, but it wasn’t quite the same.  Jiraiya had been Minato’s teacher and mentor, and was a real connection to Naruto’s past.

It took a while to get Jiraiya settled down.  Only after nearly an hour of being forced to drink glass after glass of water did he begin to sober, which turned him from a jovial drunk to a sour old man.

“What’s with you three?” he asked after the umpteenth glass of water.  He was sitting cross-legged against the wall, rubbing irritably at his head.

“We’re supposed to be on a mission to find Tsunade,” Naruto said shortly.  “But all you seem to want to do is ‘gather information’ at those kinds of places.  I used to think that it was just a bad habit, but if it gets in the way of missions then it’s a lot worse than that.”

“What do you know, kid?” Jiraiya growled, and suddenly the tension in the room doubled.  It wasn’t often that the Sage looked serious, but when he was it made any of their killing intent look like child’s play.  His eyes narrowed at the blond in front of him.  “What’s it to you?”

“You’re my godfather,” Naruto ground out, clenching his fists.  “Do you know how embarrassing it is for me to have to deal with this?”  Jiraiya blinked, as if surprised at the words.  “I understand why you haven’t been around for my whole life, but now that you’re here don’t you think you should act how my parents would have wanted you to?”

“It’s not that easy,” Jiraiya sighed, some of the anger fading from his voice.  He looked tired, and much older than he did normally.  “I’m no mentor, Naruto; I’m just an old shinobi.”

“Why can’t you just–”

“Because I’ve seen more in my time than most ever will.” That stopped Naruto in his tracks, and he was taken aback by Jiraiya’s expression.  The Sannin’s foul grimace could have wilted a flower.  “Drinking and company, Naruto – do you think such things are for mere pleasure?”  He didn’t wait for a response, feeling no sympathy for the confused look on the boy’s face.  “I’ve fought in too many wars and lost too many friends, and I’ve spent much of my life trying to atone for my mistakes.  You know why I’ve been absent from Konoha for half of my life.  Can’t a tired old man simply enjoy company that doesn’t judge him, and can’t he indulge in drink so that forgetting gets just a little easier?”

Silence.  Hinata stood with her hands clasped in front of her, features a mix of distress and empathetic sorrow.  Sasuke looked on with his typical apathy, but he had tensed at the explanation; it had hit a little close to home.  Naruto only stared, lips parted slightly as if he had been about to speak.  His godfather regarded him evenly, and only then did the boy realize that the man was far from two dimensional.  Aside from being one of the most renowned individuals in the ninja world, he was also one of the most tortured.  One of his closest friends, a person he had fought and bled with for years had abandoned him along with the village.  He was a veteran of two world wars; he was a member of the legendary yet broken Sannin; he had taught and mentored Minato and formed a close bond with him and his wife, Kushina, only to see them die at the hands of the Kyūbi.  He had spent a life in solitude away from his beloved village for the sake of keeping it safe, all the while unable to see his godson grow.

“I . . .” Naruto began, searching for his voice.  Jiraiya shook his head before leaning it back against the wall.

“I’m not looking for sympathy.  I’m just giving you a bit of much-needed perspective.”

“I don’t mean any disrespect,” Sasuke started, choosing his words carefully.  “But this is the world we live in.  It’s dark, and it’s full of pain.  Living as a shinobi means that we have to deal with that.  But . . .” He shrugged, suddenly looking a little uncomfortable.  “It doesn’t mean we have a right to drown ourselves in despair, either.  You may be a lot older than us, but you can’t look us in the eye and say we don’t understand what pain is.”  As if for emphasis his Sharingan swirled into being, focusing hard on Jiraiya’s dark eyes.  “Maybe you just need to find a better outlet for yours.”

“Sasuke can be a little harsh, but I think he might be right.”  Hinata fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, but she determinedly held eye contact.  “I know it hurts Naruto to see you like that, even if he understands why you do it.  Maybe . . . Maybe writing more would help, or you two could always talk more?” she offered.  Jiraiya blinked at her.  “Or maybe once we find Tsunade you could spend more time together.”  Before the Sage could laugh that idea off, Naruto tentatively offered his own advice.

“Jiraiya-sensei, I get why you do what you do, but . . . Like Hinata said, it’s just hard to watch.  You were my dad’s teacher and best friend, close enough to make you my godfather.  I can’t . . . I won’t stop you from going to those places anymore if that’s what you want.  I won’t let you on missions, though,” he added with a small smirk.  “But . . . We get through things together.”  He took Hinata’s hand as he spoke, settling his other forearm on Sasuke’s shoulder.  “I know that you and I aren’t exactly close yet, and it’s . . . different for us than it is for you.  But could you maybe try other ways and see how it works out?”  Jiraiya frowned, opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again.  He looked from Naruto, to Hinata, to Sasuke, then back through again before finally throwing his head back and letting out a bark of laughter.

"Would you look at me – one of the ‘legendary’ Sannin – being lectured by three kids."  He chuckled again and shook his head.  "Alright; if you feel that strongly about it, I'll see what I can do.  Not making any promises," he cautioned; his statement was still received with approving looks all around.  After a few seconds of increasingly awkward silence, he coughed and spoke up again.  "So ah . . . How're you two doing with your seals?"

"Done,” Sasuke stated matter-of-factly, withdrawing a scrap of paper from his pocket and handing it to the man.  Hinata carefully tugged a folded piece of parchment from beneath her top, eliciting several particular looks from her companions.  She flushed and presented it to Jiraiya.

“What?  I don’t have any pockets,” she mumbled.  The old Sage gingerly plucked the paper from her hand, as if afraid that he might get impure thoughts through simple contact.

“Alright then; you know the drill.”  He unfolded the scraps, placing both on the wood floor for all to see.  Sasuke nodded to Hinata, who took a deep breath before launching into her explanation.

“I think you were partway right about my last seal, sensei,” she started.  Jiraiya raised an eyebrow; he had expected to be entirely correct.  “I realized that my identity as a Hyūga isn’t really a part of who I am anymore, and some of the symbols were . . . aspirations more than the core of who I am.”  Her cheeks took on a delicate red hue.  “And I realized that – like Naruto – aside from protecting my friends, my wish to preserve Konoha and its citizens is most important.  That’s why the Leaf insignia is at the center, and three petals of an iris sprout from it.”

“A simple flower,” Jiraiya mused, examining the small seal.  Hinata seemed to have a knack for drawing; she had managed to make the little flower almost lifelike, even when inscribed entirely with jutsu-shiki.

“You said to make something that was easy to create, but had a lot of meaning.”  Hinata fidgeted a little as the man scrutinized her work.  “The iris symbolizes loyalty, and I sort of . . . borrowed Naruto’s idea and made it with three petals – one for each of us.  We’re all Konoha shinobi, and we’re connected by and through that, and through our friendship as well.”

“I like it,” the Sage stated simply.  She beamed at him.  “Your turn, Sasuke.”

“Same basic theory,” the Uchiha began without preamble.  “You asked earlier if pride in my clan was enough, and while it may not be on its own, as the last _true_ Uchiha it is an undeniable part of who I am.”  He nodded to the paper, upon which several recognizable emblems were etched.  “I doubt I need to explain what it means.”

“Three tomoe, arranged like those of your Sharingan,” Jiraiya went on for him.  “Each contains a different symbol that means something to you: Konoha’s sigil, the Uchiha clan emblem, and characters that roughly translate to ‘revenge.’”  He looked up at the boy, raising an eyebrow.  Sasuke rolled his eyes, already knowing the next question.

“The tomoe represent the three of us in unity – as a team – and they serve as a reminder.”  Hinata and Naruto both glanced at him, though they said nothing despite their solemn expressions.  Sasuke reached up to absently rub at the back of his neck, feeling the tingling skin around Orochimaru’s curse mark.  “A reminder of temptation, and of promises that I’ve made.”  Jiraiya studied him for a long moment before giving a somber nod.

“I’ve no doubt that you’re on the right track now – both of you.  Have you attempted to . . .” He trailed off as they both held out smooth, blank rocks.  Before his eyes they touched a fingertip to their individual stones, and almost immediately their seals came into being.  Hinata’s flower blossomed outward, taking up most of the blank space available to it as the runic script-petals stretched.  A black dot formed and gained artificial depth at Sasuke’s fingertip before it broke apart and spiraled outward, like a Sharingan activating in the palm of his hand.  The tomoe quickly settled an equal distance apart, slightly closer than they might have been in the presence of a pupil.

“I knew it wouldn’t take long,” Naruto grinned, proud of his teammates’ accomplishments.  Hinata flashed him a demure smile, though Sasuke only shrugged.

“A full day is longer than I would have liked to learn something that simple, but I guess it was kind of unorthodox.”  The dark-haired boy was fairly unexcitable, like always.

“The hard part is finding the right seal,” Jiraiya admitted.  The old Sage groaned and stretched as he stood up.  “Well, seeing as I was apprehended before getting to my main course – in more ways than one – how about we go out to eat?  We should celebrate your progress, after all – my treat.”  Naruto and Sasuke regarded him flatly at the crude remark, and Hinata tried her hand at a disapproving look.  They all brightened at the prospect of being treated to dinner, however; they could forgive him this time.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“I’ll say it one more time, and I can’t emphasize it enough: this technique is _dangerous_.  There’s a reason that you’re not taught about jikūkan ninjutsu at the academy.”  Jiraiya eyed his three students, who all nodded up at him.  They were sitting next to one another, cross-legged within a grove of trees.  Each had a familiar marked stone placed several meters in front of them, as well as an unmarked one by their feet.  “If you get the hang of it, eventually you’ll be able to do it without thinking about it.  But for now, I want you to concentrate as hard as you can on your seal, and its _exact_ location.  You need to perfectly visualize where you – or in this case, your rock – will end up.”

“What happens if we don’t do it just right?” Naruto ventured, looking a little worried.

“Honestly?  I have no idea.” Jiraiya grinned fiercely, and at the moment it looked scarier than it did light-hearted.  “I’ve already explained the theory behind the jutsu; you’re basically folding the space-time continuum between you and your seal, making a hole in that folded ‘fabric’, and moving through the dimensional gap.  A lot can go wrong in the instant that you’re between dimensions.  If your aim is even the smallest amount off, you might get trapped ‘nowhere’.  You might get sent hundreds or thousands of kilometers away, to the other side of the planet, to the moon, or right next to where you were trying to go.”

“So what you’re saying is . . . it’s not predictable at all, and it could kill us,” Sasuke put in, frowning.

“Exactly,” the old man confirmed, smiling pleasantly now.  Hinata blanched, Sasuke scowled, and Naruto looked increasingly pensive.  “To my knowledge, only a handful of shinobi have ever been able to use the technique, either due to chakra capacity limitations or lack of control.  You three are . . . unique, for lack of a better word.  You’ve honed your chakra control well enough over the years to manage it, and while Naruto naturally has the chakra reserves for the Hiraishin, you two have trained and built yours up adequately.  I believe you’ll be able to pull it off, but now’s the time to back out if you’re not confident.”

“I can do it,” Naruto said at once, his eyes alight with conviction.  Jiraiya nodded; he had expected nothing less from the boy.

“You think I’m going to pass up on such a useful jutsu?” Sasuke asked, his eyebrow quirked.  “Compared to any other technique I know of, the Hiraishin has the potential to be the most versatile by far.”

“I . . .” Hinata hesitated.  At one time it might have been her lack of self-confidence that caused her worry, but now . . . _What if something goes wrong?_   It wasn’t her own wellbeing that was a concern; she just wasn’t sure if she could handle one of her friends disappearing, never to return.  It had already almost happened once, and it could happen again.  _But that’s the world we live in, isn’t it?_   It was a sobering thought.  _We’ve all been open about our feelings for one another.  There’s nothing to be afraid of._   “‘Sometimes one must bet against fate in order to fly.’” The others blinked at her in surprise, and she gave them a small smile in return.  “It’s one of Neji’s new favorite sayings.”

“Appropriate quote,” Jiraiya commented amusedly.  “But don’t get too serious just yet.  You’re starting with a variation of the jutsu that doesn’t pose a significant threat to you.  Minato invented it to drastically reduce the risk involved in learning to control space-time techniques.  It still takes a lot of chakra, but you’re teleporting one marked object to another, so unless you really lose focus you won’t be hurting anything.  I think, anyway.  You might be able to transport one of your rocks inside of somebody’s head, I guess.”  They grimaced simultaneously at the thought.  He smirked and turned with a wave of his hand, sauntering back towards the town.  “I’ll be back to check on you later.  Don’t try anything stupid.”

“Behave yourself!” Naruto called, earning him a flat look from Jiraiya.  He grinned cheekily before turning his attention back to the small rock in front of him.  “Well . . . who wants to try first?”

The remainder of the day was frustrating, to say the least.  When Jiraiya returned with lunch at noon, none of them had managed to do anything but throw a few curses at the stones.  When he came back with dinner, Hinata tiredly informed him that hers had ‘wobbled a little.’  By the time darkness had set in, they had all returned to their room with nothing to show for their efforts save for headaches in triplicate.

“I thought you said creating the seal was the hard part,” Sasuke groaned, falling heavily onto his bedroll.

“Did I say that?” Jiraiya asked innocently.  Sasuke gave him annoyed look while Naruto and Hinata slid down to sit next to one another against one wall, too tired to be frustrated with the old man.  “Look, this is an extremely advanced jutsu, even more so than the Rasengan or the Chidori.  What makes you think you’ll have a breakthrough in only one day of practice?”  Sasuke grunted, and the other two only sighed.  Hinata’s eyes were closed, and her head was resting against Naruto’s shoulder.  _They all used a lot of chakra today, even without succeeding._ “Manipulating space-time requires a tremendous amount of chakra, which is one of the reasons that only shinobi with large amounts of chakra can use summoning techniques.  The Hiraishin is, in essence, a reverse-summoning ability; you’re pulling yourself to a destination instead of bringing something to you.”

“Is it possible to reverse-summon things?  Like if I left my kunai somewhere or something, could I bring it to myself?” Naruto asked curiously, seemingly the least exhausted of the trio.

“Theoretically, yes,” the Sannin responded, carefully considering his words.  “But it would be a much more delicate process, and both you and the object would need to be marked.  Don’t forget: your seal is permanent once you put it on something, so don’t go marking things haphazardly.”  They absorbed that information in silence, largely because speaking required energy.  Jiraiya smirked and shook his head, stepping to the door.  “Get some rest; you’ll want plenty of sleep to replenish your chakra.”  They didn’t need to be told twice.  After their sensei had left to continue his search, Sasuke fell asleep almost immediately.  Naruto gently nudged Hinata into a state of half-wakefulness, and she managed to curl up in her bedroll shortly after. 

Naruto remained awake for some time, staring at the ceiling and wondering how to overcome his current training obstacle.  Usually he was able to figure things out through extensive experimentation and with help from Sasuke and Hinata.  This sort of training was just . . . dull.  They had spent the entire day sitting and trying to focus on something that was hard to even think about.  _Enter another dimension?  Fold space-time?  How am I supposed to do that?_

 ** _You know, it’s remarkable how easily you forget that I’m here,_** Kurama yawned.

_I asked you for help earlier; you said you were taking a nap.  Do you even sleep?_

**_That’s a foolish question.  I don’t need to sleep, but why would I avoid something so enjoyable?_** The Kyūbi seemed to enjoy Naruto’s simmering for a few seconds before continuing.  **_Let me see if I can present it in a way that you’d easily understand._**

 ** _The realm in which you live is what’s commonly referred to as ‘reality.’  This reality is a single dimension.  Understand so far?_** Naruto replied only with a mental nod.  **_Jikūkan ninjutsu involves a second dimension.  This second dimension is largely a mystery, although by all accounts and studies it’s basically emptiness, hence it commonly being referred to as the dimensional void.  Any time you use a space-time technique, you simultaneously affect reality and the void._**

_Is that why it takes so much chakra to use those kinds of jutsu?_

**_Mostly, yes.  Like the old man said, the amount of energy required to alter the continuum is beyond most mortals’ capabilities.  But it’s not all about the amount of chakra you have, or you would have been able to do it already._ **

**_Think about this: in order to throw a kunai through a tree, you not only need to throw it physically hard, but you also need to surround it with your sharpened chakra to allow it to penetrate all the way through.  Even with those requirements, it wouldn’t be a challenge for you.  But if you have to hit a fly on the other side of the tree, it becomes much more difficult to do it all and aim precisely._ **

_So . . ._ Naruto started slowly, trying to think of a jutsu to compare the analogy to.  _Kind of like with the Rasengan?  I had to use a lot of power, but focus it?_

**_In a way, but this requires significantly greater concentration.  You’re threading a needle of chakra through two dimensions, trying to hit a miniscule target._ **

_It’s not that small._

**_Kid, of every single object in the entire world – of the infinite number of locations on this planet alone – you think that your insignificant seal is easy to detect?_ **

_. . . Okay, point taken._   _But then how am I supposed to find it?_

 ** _Beats me._** Naruto blinked at the ceiling, and he could feel the Fox’s mental shrug.  **_I suspect that the reason Jiraiya had you invest so heavily in your seal is to create a certain emotional bond with it.  That alone should make it easier to connect with through the void._**

 _Connect with . . ._ In his mind’s eye Naruto could visualize a thread of chakra venturing into the void, seeking out the seal on the other side.  He heard the Kyūbi chuckle a moment later.

**_If it helps to visualize it like that, I suppose it’s not too far from accurate.  You are using your seal – a mark created using your chakra – to identify a location, then utilizing your chakra to transport you to it.  Thinking of the seal as a guide isn’t a bad idea._ **

_Mm . . . I’ll have plenty of time to try tomorrow.  Thanks, Kurama.  I’ll tell Sasuke and Hinata ‘bout it when I . . . ._ He trailed off, slipping from consciousness.  The Fox snorted quietly before settling in for his own bit of rest, absently surprised at how Naruto had followed along with the explanation so well.

 ** _It was more entertaining when you were an idiot, but admittedly also more frustrating,_** Kurama sighed.

_I heard that._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Normally a span of two days would go by quickly for Team Seven, especially when engaged in rigorous training.  Time had crawled by, however, even when small advances had been made in light of Kurama’s shared advice.  Hinata seemed to be getting the hang of it at the same pace as Naruto, with Sasuke trailing a bit behind.  It wasn’t until the end of that second day – the third full day – that real progress was made.

_Clack._

The sound of stone striking stone caused three pairs of eyes to fly open.  Exhaustion was momentarily forgotten as their collective gaze fell upon Hinata’s set of rocks, which were now sitting side by side a few meters in front of her.  Her lips parted in silent surprise, though it was Naruto who verbalized any excitement first.

“You did it!” he exclaimed, bubbling with glee and pride alike.  Sasuke tried his hand at a congratulatory smirk before going back to kneading his forehead.  None of them were used to this method of training, but the Uchiha was far from accustomed to being the least capable at anything.

“I guess I did,” she said faintly after a moment, smiling weakly.  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, sighing and simply falling back into the grass.  “I could use a nap now, I think . . .” She laughed lightly, too exhausted to feel much enthusiasm for her success.

“I guess we need to catch up now,” Naruto said with a smirk.  As usual, the youth was still full of enough energy for the whole group.  “Ready to pull an all-nighter, Sasuke?” The other boy gave him a look that said ‘You’re insane,’ though he didn’t vocalize any objections.  He had a pretty good idea of what the blond was up to.

“I can still train,” Hinata insisted, sitting up.  She wavered as she did, and before long she was falling back again.  Naruto was there this time, quickly catching and slipping his arms underneath her and gently lifting her up.  A few unconvincing protests escaped her lips, but even before he had exited the clearing her head was resting against his shoulder, her chest rising and falling in the steady rhythm of sleep.

On the way to their room he passed by Jiraiya, who was walking with a particularly surly looking blonde woman.  They crossed paths too quickly to take note of her facial features, but he made sure to eye his teacher suspiciously.  Naruto might have stopped to ask what he was doing with the busty escort, or perhaps regale the Sage with how Hinata had performed the technique.  Such actions could have woken his charge, however.

Putting her to bed didn’t take any great length of time.  A mumbled thanks and a sleepy kiss later he was back to the rooftops, having made sure that the door was firmly locked and applying the barrier ninjutsu Jiraiya had taught them.  They hadn’t taken any risks after being attacked by Itachi and Kisame.

“Asleep already?” Naruto asked amusedly as he landed next to Sasuke.  The brunet groaned and rolled over from where he had been lying.

“Hinata’s going to be mad at us – and especially you – if she knows we’re going to be using soldier pills to keep training,” he sighed, cracking his neck a few times.  “That was what you were planning, wasn’t it?”  Naruto grinned, producing two black pills from the pouch on his belt.  “Thought so,” Sasuke grunted.

 ** _You do know that taking those in order to expend more chakra is dangerous, right?_**   The Kyūbi’s drawl sounded less condescending and more cautionary this time.

 _Only if we use too much of the extra chakra._   Without waiting for the Fox’s approval, Naruto popped the pill into his mouth, tossing the other to Sasuke.  The other boy did the same, and after a few seconds he stretched, already looking refreshed.  _We’ll just keep doing the same thing, and we’ll stop before we run out._

 ** _You could at least use it better this time._**   Naruto blinked at that as he settled down next to Sasuke, raising a curious eyebrow.  Kurama rolled his eyes.  **_You don’t remember the advantages of the Kage Bunshin?  Don’t tell me that you forgot what Kakashi told you._**

_He said that they have their own minds, basically, and that I get their memories when they go away.  What’s that got to do with using chakra better?_

**_You really are dull sometimes, although admittedly he could have phrased it better._**   **_You do keep the clone’s memories, and along with those memories you retain their experience._**   Naruto blinked, waving a hand at Sasuke to get his attention.  The Uchiha glanced at his seemingly distracted friend.  **_Get it?_**

 _So you’re saying that . . . if I make a clone, and it does some training, that I . . . get that training too?_ The Kyūbi made an affirming grunt.  _. . . Why didn’t you tell me that years ago?!_

 ** _If I told you everything about which you were ignorant, I’d never stop talking.  If you would have paid a modicum of attention to your clones and what you get back from them you would have realized it on your own._** Naruto had to bite his proverbial tongue to keep from making a frustrated retort.  He understood the Fox’s reasoning, to a degree, but time was something entirely different to an immortal bijū than it was to humanity.  In Naruto’s mind, so much time could have been saved – years of experience could have been gained – if he had been told that ‘small’ detail.  **_Oh, and don’t use more than one while you’re using that pill.  You’ll probably die._**

 _Thanks,_ he managed after a long, frustrating moment.  He felt the Kyūbi shrug nonchalantly, and he had to turn to address Sasuke before he got too angry at his own ignorance.  “So, the dumb Fox just decided to tell me that Shadow Clones make training faster.”

“Er . . . What?” Naruto quickly explained what Kurama had told him, eliciting a fairly severe scowl from Sasuke.  The expression turned into a dry smirk after a moment, however.  “Well, I guess I’m glad you found that out now instead of back then.  You’d have been so far ahead of us that there’d be no hope in catching up.  Now, though . . .” He smirked and crossed his fingers, summoning a clone to sit next to him.

“Yeah, yeah,” the blond sighed, his anger fizzling into mere annoyance as his own bunshin appeared.  “Anyway, let’s get back to it I guess.”

Several hours later the pair returned to the inn, completely drained but victorious.  Sasuke had dismissed his clone after three hours, and a few minutes later he had been able to transport his stone.  To Naruto’s extreme outrage – and Sasuke’s amusement – his clone had been able to move the rock before him.  After dispersing the bunshin with a solid punch to its nose, he too was successful.

“You do it,” Sasuke muttered.  “You’ve got more chakra left.”

“Excuses,” Naruto teased.  His friend rolled his eyes.  “Fine, fine . . .” He stepped in front of the door to their room, bringing his hands up to run through a long set of seals.  “Kekkai: Deactivate.”  The air around the entrance seemed to ripple slightly before settling.  Sasuke went in without hesitation, and once the door was shut behind them Naruto turned and went through yet another series of seals.  “Kekkai: Sensory Gate.”  With the barrier back in place, the two of them collapsed onto their bedrolls, not even noticing that Jiraiya had not returned.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“Time to wake up, kids.” Jiraiya’s voice was not the most pleasant thing to be woken up to, especially after just a few hours of rest.  Only Hinata stirred and blinked her eyes open.

“These are the genin you were telling me about?” a woman’s voice asked, sounding dubious.  “They look pretty lazy to me.”

“I’ve had them training for three days, Tsunade,” the Sage chided.  That got the trio’s attention.  Hinata sat bolt upright, her eyes wide on the lady standing next to Jiraiya.  Naruto and Sasuke sat up more slowly, blinking sleep from their eyes as they registered what was going on.  “So?”  The two boys were still a bit out of it from their lack of sleep, so Hinata tentatively took the lead.

“I managed to do it once yesterday,” she started, subconsciously combing her fingers through her hair.  She had always known that Jiraiya was one of the Sannin, but he acted so aloof that it was easily forgotten.  Tsunade was a legendary kunoichi, however, and at one time or another had been the idol of every young girl seeking to become a ninja.  “It took a lot of chakra to do, but I think I was only so tired because of how many times I tried it.”

“And how many was that?” Tsunade asked, trying to decide whether to be impressed or not.

“Um . . . A few hundred at least; we didn’t take many breaks, and we were practicing for most of three days.”  The female Sannin blinked in surprise, raising an eyebrow at Jiraiya.

“You let them try chakra intensive space-time ninjutsu for three days straight?  They can’t be older than thirteen!”

“Age is only a number,” Jiraiya responded evenly, giving Hinata an approving nod.  “They may be beyond our level when we graduated from the academy.”

“We were six then,” Tsunade pointed out, though that fact clearly didn’t stop her from being impressed.  “And I wouldn’t have taught _us_ something as complex and dangerous as the Hiraishin until many years after that!”

“I take it from those smug looks that you two got it done as well?” the Sage asked, ignoring Tsunade’s scolding.

“Hinata did it first,” Naruto started, now on his feet and peering curiously at the woman.  “It took us a few more hours to catch up, but we got it.  Oh, that reminds me!”  He turned and began explaining what Kurama had shared about the Shadow Clone jutsu, leaving out details concerning the Kyūbi of course.  Hinata started out looking a touch cross that he and Sasuke had trained late into the night without her, but the news about the clones was enough to dismiss the concern – for now.

“Who told you about that?” Tsunade asked suddenly, cutting off Naruto’s tangent.

“Kakashi-sensei,” he said defensively.  It wasn’t entirely untrue.  Tsunade narrowed her eyes, glancing at Hinata after a second.  The girl flushed and averted her gaze; it had apparently been suspicious that she had shown no surprise at Naruto’s seemingly spontaneous insight.

“You should be more cautious when taking advice from the Kyūbi,” the kunoichi sighed.  “Jiraiya told me all about it,” she added upon seeing Naruto’s bewilderment.  “As with most things that appear to unevenly advance skill, there’s a great deal of risk involved with creating Shadow Clones to accelerate training.  If–”

“If we create too many and they use up too much energy, when they disperse we could die,” Sasuke finished for her, waving a dismissive hand.  “I know you think we’re just kids, but give us a little credit.”

“This must be the Uchiha,” Tsunade continued, smirking at the boy.  She said nothing further.  No matter how insolent the boy was towards her, bringing up his history would only be cruel.

“So are we going back to Konoha now?” Naruto asked hopefully.  His teammates looked to Jiraiya as well, who coughed and rubbed at the back of his neck.

“Ah . . . Well, not yet.”  They blinked at him in unison.  “Tsunade hasn’t accepted the offer yet.”

“ _What?_ ” Naruto balked, taking a step back as if physically struck.

“Why would I want to be Hokage, boy?  I get to go where I please, gamble to my heart’s content, and drink as much as I want to.  That position isn’t worth giving up my freedom for; only a fool would accept it.  Maybe they should consider Jiraiya instead,” she commented with a mirthless laugh.

Naruto stared at her.  It was all he could do at the moment, unless he wanted to give in to the impulse to land a punch on her jaw.  She had inadvertently mocked the Sandaime, as well as the Yondaime – his father.  She had kicked his dream aside as if it were trash, all because she wanted to indulge in the same kinds of activities as Jiraiya.  _Same kind of . . ._ His fury evaporated almost as soon as it had come, and he unclenched fists he had no memory of flexing.

“Maybe you’re running from something,” Naruto said quietly.  It was Tsunade’s turn to freeze up and stare.  He shrugged, lacing his fingers behind his head.  “I don’t know why you’d want to stay away from Konoha just to do that stuff, but whatever it is it must be bad.  There’s no other reason for you to insult great shinobi like that.”

“Brat, what do you kn–” she began, irate.  Naruto cut her off with another shrug as he continued.

“Not as much as you; I was reminded of that recently.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t know what it looks like when somebody’s trying to escape from their past.”  Jiraiya grinned at him, though he had to hide it from Tsunade.  “That’s your business.  But I’m not going to let you tell me that being Hokage is a fool’s job.  The Sandaime has always done what he could for the village, and he’s one of the only people that helped me when I was little.  Orochimaru almost killed him during the Chūnin Exams, and I know he would have died for the village if he had to, the same way my dad did.”  Anger seemed to recede from Tsunade’s expression at that, though it failed to leave completely.  Naruto stood his ground, meeting the woman’s eyes with a hard glare.  It was all he could do to keep a snarl from appearing on his features.  “I’m going to be Hokage one day, too, so that I can protect the village the same way the others did.  But I’m willing to let you have to job first, since I don’t meet the qualifications just yet.”  He smirked at her, though the way his crimson eyes were simmering made the expression look fiercer than intended.

Tsunade didn’t say anything for a time.  She studied Naruto, growing increasingly sour until she finally turned towards the door.  “You’re a bastard, Jiraiya.”  Without another word she slammed the door behind herself.  The entire frame cracked and collapsed a breath later, leaving a pile of wood and rubble behind.

“Well that didn’t go as I anticipated,” Jiraiya sighed.  “You didn’t have to go that far, Naruto.”

“She started it,” he said defensively, scowling.  “She’s wrong and she knows it.”

“Maybe, but you don’t know what she’s been through.  Her life has been similar to mine, but she’s lost some very close, precious people.  You basically just told her to ‘get over it.’”  Naruto’s scowl turned into a slightly apologetic glower then, and Jiraiya shook his head.  “I know you didn’t mean it, but . . .” He trailed off, jerking his head to the side as if listening to something.

 ** _Naruto,_** Kurama said in an urgent growl.  **_Do you feel that?_**   It took a moment, but Naruto gasped and spun towards the opposite wall.  That overpowering, roiling hatred and killing intent was unmistakable, and unforgettable.

“Shukaku . . .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks; sorry this chapter took so long to put up, and that it was a bit slow-paced. The good news is that I’m halfway done with Chapter 22, so I’ll easily have another chapter posted before the end of the month.
> 
> Only note for this chapter is that I basically made the entire Hiraishin training process up, in order to give it a little needed depth. I also made huge assumptions about how the technique works based on theories about wormholes and warp drives. I was wondering when being a science nerd would pay off in my writing!
> 
> Thank you for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing as always. Thank you Rhi for doing the unforgiving editing chapter after chapter; you’re the best.
> 
> See you next time!


	22. Grudge Match

"I guess he was serious about that threat," Sasuke muttered darkly, vaulting over Tanzaku's high outer wall.  Naruto, Hinata, and Jiraiya followed over beside him, and they slid down the stone face before leaping into the forest.

"He's coming fast," Naruto said tightly.  He absently touched a hand to his chest, all too aware that the Ichibi was responsible for his scars.  He was reminded of that fact every time he looked into a mirror.

"We need to meet him as far from the town as possible.  Pick up the pace."  Jiraiya's tone was uncharacteristically severe.  He had wasted no time in exiting their room – straight through the closed window in a shower of glass and metal.  Time was of the essence.  They had all seen the carnage that only one bijū could cause, and Sasuke and Hinata had been privy to a battle between two.

The young Hyūga remained silent as they sped through the trees, racing towards her own personal nightmare.  It had barely been two weeks since the attack on Konoha - since Naruto's near miss with death.  At the time she had drawn on her determination and fierce desire for vengeance to keep her going, but now . . . Hinata was scared.  The idea of facing Gaara and Shukaku again was terrifying.  They had Jiraiya on their side, of course, but they had barely defeated the Ichibi in the last battle even with Kurama’s assistance.  After such a terrible, scarring experience in which neither her friends’ lives nor her own had been guaranteed, charging headfirst into a conflict with the same foe was nothing short of terrifying.

"It'll be okay this time.  I promise."  Naruto's words came to her in the barest whisper, and it took her a moment to realize that he was using the Wind Whisper jutsu to speak privately.  His hand found hers between one jump and the next, and she squeezed it tightly.  "We haven't done all of that training together for nothing."

"What if he transforms again?" Hinata asked, her voice a touch more shrill than normal.

"Kurama says it doesn't feel like he’s transformed right now, and Jiraiya-sensei said he can summon Gamabunta to help if Shukaku does come out."  He responded without the Wind Whisper technique, as the information was useful to the group at large.  Hinata nodded tightly, activating her dōjutsu and pushing her anxiety away.

**_The tanuki is heavy, and cannot travel quickly.  His jinchūriki can move over long distances faster, but there's no telling what will happen when he gets here.  Your body can't handle another transformation yet, even if we wanted to try that._ **

_Even the one you did against Itachi and Kisame?_

**_You need to get more used to that form before we can use it more than once every week or so, I'd guess.  For now you're limited to the three-tailed cloak._ **

"No luck with transformations," Naruto relayed to the rest, sounding frustrated.  "All I can do is use the regular cloak."

"If he stays in that weird partially-transformed state, we can take him.  He was strong, but I was able to hit him with the Chidori."  Sasuke's Sharingan flashed in the morning sunlight as they continued eastward.  His eyes were hard on the horizon as they broke briefly through the canopy, scanning with his enhanced vision for any sign of movement.

"If he's as nuts as he was before, he might charge straight for us.  You two should have that jutsu ready," Naruto said gruffly.  "Sasuke, do you think we can pull off the technique we've been working on?"

"Probably, if the barrier stops him for long enough."

"You know, kids," Jiraiya inserted, "It's nice that you're having a strategy meeting, but I plan to take him myself.  You three stay back and-"

"No." All three spoke in unison, and even Hinata had a firm edge to her voice.  She continued a second later, taking confidence from her friends' conviction and Naruto's comforting hand.  "Shukaku and Gaara nearly killed Naruto.  The Sand and Sound destroyed half of our village and murdered our comrades and citizens.  As shinobi of the Leaf we have a duty to prevent such a thing from ever happening again."  She tilted her head to one side to meet Jiraiya's eyes, her own alight with renewed zeal.  "We will fight Shukaku and Gaara."

Jiraiya remained quiet for a while, absorbing the girl's passionate words.  It was true that the trio had helped defeat the Ichibi in the first place, but each of them knew that without the Kyūbi's help it would have been impossible.  Gamabunta might be able to hold his own for a while against a fully transformed beast, but . . .

"Alright," the Sannin started with a tsk, shaking his head.  "I want you three to engage him first, and I'll do my best to mask my chakra and take him by surprise.  Don't take any big risks without my approval; I  _am_ responsible for you three, after all."  He gave them a slight grin, and they returned it with a nod each.

"We'll show you how hard we've been training with Kakashi-sensei," Naruto proclaimed, clenching his free hand into a fist.  He flicked his gaze to his teammates, wearing a slightly devious smirk.  "We'll show you how strong Team Seven can be together.  Right?"  Sasuke grunted in the affirmative, and Hinata nodded emphatically.

_They really believe they can do it._   Jiraiya wasn't sure whether to be baffled, impressed, or annoyed at their brash bravery.  But something about the three of them was . . . different.  It was difficult to pinpoint why, but he felt assured that they  _could_  win.  "He's less than five kilometers away now, moving straight for us.  I'll leave you three to engage.  Good luck."  He was gone almost before he had finished speaking.  Nobody looked around for him; all eyes were forward, focused intently on the forest ahead.

"I see him," Hinata said sharply, squinting into the trees.  "Eight hundred meters ahead, partially transformed, and . . . I think he's standing still."  Naruto's arm shot out to one side, signaling a halt.  They landed as one, crouched and waiting on the forest floor.

"I think he suspects something.  We should . . ."  Naruto trailed off as Kurama's voice rang through his head.

**_Barrier – now!_ **

"Hinata, barrier!" he relayed, the Kyūbi's urgency coming through in his own tone.  Hinata didn't hesitate.

"Kekkai: Chakra Web!"  She threw her hands forward, and chakra began streaming from her fingertips.  It flew in front of them, arcing around into a half-dome.  The ethereal fibers wove together rapidly, making the shield more and more dense until it was nearly a solid glowing wall.  A breath later a monstrous force slammed into the barrier even as every tree within sight was ripped from the ground.  Naruto recognized the blast immediately; it was the same kind of attack he had used against Neji, only it contained incalculably more chakra.

"Shukaku's chakra!" he shouted over the din created by the howling wind.  Sasuke looked sharply at him before muttering a curse that was lost in the noise.  Hinata's brow was furrowed in concentration as she strained against the powerful maelstrom.  All at once the chakra-laced wind died down, leaving them in an eerie silence.  Hinata allowed the barrier to dissipate after a few seconds, though she kept her Byakugan focused forward intently.

"He's just standing there," she said in a hushed voice.  "I can't see very far past him, but judging by what's behind and around us, I think he cleared a half kilometer of forest in every direction . . ."

"He must have expected Jiraiya's plan and flattened the surrounding area, forcing us to fight out in the open," Sasuke murmured, straightening from his crouch.  Naruto nodded, and even before he spoke the cloak of reddish chakra was beginning to seep out and shroud him.

"Hinata, can you describe what he looks like?"

"I can only see one of Gaara's real limbs - his left leg.  The rest looks like it's covered in a thick layer of sand.  His face, arms, and torso look almost like . . . It almost looks like Shukaku, just on a small scale."

**_Partial transformation,_**  Kurama grunted.   ** _That chakra wasn't as strong as it should have been.  I'm guessing that, like you, the Ichibi's jinchūriki can't perform another full transformation for a while.  That works in your favor, but it doesn't mean he's going to be a pushover._** Naruto didn't take the time to respond, instead quickly relaying the message to his teammates as they started forward.

"What's that mean exactly?" Sasuke asked.

"That Gaara basically is a little Shukaku.  I'm guessing he's not nearly as strong, but he does gain a lot of speed from not being a huge sand monster.  If he's as crazy as he was back then, I'm betting he'll charge right for us when we get near.  You two know what to do?"  Sasuke and Hinata nodded grimly, already summoning the necessary chakra.  "Ready to hit him with our new jutsu, Sasuke?"  The Uchiha grinned as Gaara came into sight, though the Suna-nin screeched before he could respond.

"Time to die!" Gaara tore forward as they neared, scattering a cloud of debris in his wake.  His speed was frightening considering the dense coat of sand, and he was all but a blur by the time Team Seven slid to a halt.

"Doton: Stone Prison!" Hinata called, kneeling and slamming both palms to the ground.  The earth ruptured all around them, and a circle of solid rock rose from the ground to form a dome around them.  "Kekkai: Chakra Web!" Before the protective stones had even closed over their heads, the familiar blue threads of chakra were layering themselves close around them.  Sasuke was already taking a deep breath to follow up her barrier. 

"Katon: Great Fireball!" Sasuke's technique scorched through the barrier, crashing into the walls of their now closed shield.  He turned in a slow circle, the fire's incredible heat shielded by the one-way chakra weaving.  The rock began to glow and melt before their eyes, but following close on the heels of the flames was a stream of water from Naruto.  The liquid hit the molten stones with a deafening hiss that all but drowned out the roaring fire.  What was left behind from the rapid heating and cooling was a wall of clear quartzite crystals.  A beat later Hinata expanded her web to further fortify the stone shield, and Gaara crashed into the barrier a moment later.

"Glad you two came up with this," Naruto mused, looking around at the faintly glimmering crystal formations; they refracted the glow from Hinata’s Chakra Web, bringing a soft light to the darkness within the dome.  Gaara continued to batter at the shield, creating shockwaves that caused the ground to tremble beneath their feet.

"It's strong enough to hold you and your three-tailed cloak back indefinitely, but I'm not sure how long it'll hold up against him."  As if in response, a loud crack resounded from their left, and they all turned to face it as the crystals began to split and crumble.  "Hinata, get behind us.  We haven't exactly perfected this yet."  She nodded quickly, taking a step back, and the two boys moved to stand side by side.  "Ready, Naruto?"

"Let's do it." As the blond raised his hands, Sasuke mirrored his movements.  They wove through a dozen seals before reaching a hand towards one another, Sasuke’s right meeting Naruto’s left.  The ends of their middle fingers came together as their indexes bent back, ring fingers crossing in between while their smallest digits overlapped straight.  For a few seconds nothing happened, and Gaara’s enraged battering on their shield grew louder.  Then the air stirred, and a faint golden glow began to swirl in front of their connected hands.  A soft hum began to reverberate through the enclosed space, rising in volume until it overpowered the breaking rocks.

Hinata’s breath caught in a gasp as the yellow light intensified, concentrating in a single point before expanding.  Satellites of shining chakra coalesced, racing around the sphere in every direction and creating a blinding display.  She had seen the technique several times by now, but it managed to dazzle her anew every time.  _It’s like a star in the palms of their hands . . ._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Jiraiya folded his arms and leaned against the tree trunk.  He stood on a high branch at the edge of the flattened landscape, peering curiously at the barrier that Gaara was trying to breach.  The outside hadn’t changed much after Hinata had brought it up, though a few clear crystals had forced their way out.  _Interesting._

“Jiraiya!” Tsunade landed next to him, her eyes hard on the scene in the distance.  “What’re you doing here?  Is that really–”

“Shukaku – the Ichibi,” he offered mildly, not turning from the battlefield.  “His jinchūriki, at least.”  Tsunade’s mouth worked for a response before she narrowed her eyes.

“Are those genin–”

“Yep.” Jiraiya glanced at her and raised his eyebrow, noting that her jaw had dropped.  “What?”

“You’re leaving them out there to fight that monster alone?  What’re you thinking?!”  He seemed to consider that for a moment before shrugging, going back to observing as Gaara took a chunk out of the shield.

“They insisted on taking him on their own.  To be fair, I don’t even know what they’re capable of.  By the way, have you ever seen anybody do that before?”  He grinned and nodded at the barrier.  “Hinata used a mid-level earth level technique, and the walls were heated to the point of melting – by Sasuke, presumably.  They must have simultaneously shielded themselves from the heat and cooled it rapidly to get those hard crystal formations.”

“I’ve heard that the Fifth Mizukage can use her kekkei genkai to similar effect, but . . .” She trailed off, lifting her own eyebrows.  “I can sense an additional barrier inside of that one, and it’s fairly complex.  What did you teach these kids, Jiraiya?”

“Nothing,” he laughed, scratching at the back of his neck.  “I just know that they’ve been together for a long time.  To think that they’ve created their own collaboration techniques already . . .” He trailed off, blinking at the sudden pulse of intense chakra.  Gaara leapt upon the wall, raising both huge, clawed hands above his head and bringing them smashing down onto a crack in the rock.  The barrier shuddered, and for a moment it seemed like the impact had been completely absorbed.  But before the jinchūriki could draw away for another attack, the stones crumbled beneath him.

“What in the world . . .” Tsunade couldn’t find the words.  As the dome collapsed, light burst forth in a blinding display that lasted only a fraction of a second.  Even from such a distance the kunoichi had to avert her gaze.  When she refocused she saw Gaara falling towards the three genin, and the two boys were already sprinting forward.  Between their joined hands they held an impossibly bright, roiling mass of fire nearly a meter across.  Arcs of liquid flame erupted from the sphere’s surface, lashing towards their falling adversary.  Even from that distance, they could hear Naruto and Sasuke’s combined roar.

“ _Katon: Solar Flare!_ ”

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

The miniature sun hit Gaara straight on, halting his fall and immediately melting into Shukaku’s sand-flesh.  His screams were lost in the violent fulmination that followed.  The fiery orb exploded outward in a conical blast, searing into the sky for several dozen meters.  Gaara spun through the air, landing a ways off in a blackened, crumpled heap.

“Agh . . .” Sasuke groaned, jerking his arm back from Naruto’s and holding it to the side of his head.  His hand had blistered over already, and one side of his face was an angry red.  “That didn’t go exactly as planned.”  He managed a smirk despite the obvious pain he was in.  “Got him, though.”

“Yeah, nice one.  We still have a lot of work to do; we couldn’t maintain the shape for more than a few seconds.”  Naruto coughed, licking at his cracked lips.  The technique had sapped most of the moisture from the immediate area, and the oxygen had gone along with it.  He flexed his hand, watching as the skin rippled and mended itself over the harsh burns.  “You okay?”

“Yeah, but apparently he’s pretty tough.”  Sasuke narrowed his eyes as Gaara twitched once, then again.  “Hinata, could you . . .” He trailed off, noticing that there was already a cerulean light pulsing gently by his head.  “Er, thanks.”

“Try to be more careful; medical ninjutsu takes a lot of chakra,” Hinata chided, truly more worried about her friends than her own energy.  She lowered her hands to his burned one, but he took a step forward and out of her reach.

“My hand’s still fully functional; I can deal with the pain.  He’s getting up.”  As unbelievable as it seemed after taking a direct hit from the Solar Flare, Gaara stood up.  It was a slow, jerky process, but he was on his feet again, hunched over and taking in ragged breaths.  Most of the sand had been lost in the blast, but that protection was the only reason that the boy was still in one piece.  He stood looking nearly like himself again, with only half of his face still covered in a grotesque visage of the Ichibi.  The majority of his visible skin was blackened, and his Suna attire was in tatters.

“You . . . brats,” he spat, voice shaking with barely contained, crazed fury.  Shukaku’s yellow eyes stared hard at the trio, who were all crouched and ready for the second round.  “I am Shukaku!  Just as I have broken this child to my will, so shall I break you!”  Sand began to ooze out of his skin, coating him once again in the garb of the Ichibi.  This time, however, it didn’t stop at creating only one shell.  It poured out to either side, writhing from the ground and molding into two distinctive forms.  Hardly a second had passed, but now there stood three transformed jinchūriki, all snarling and wearing Shukaku’s insane grin.  “Time to die!”

None of them had time to shout a warning or even a brief plan, but they didn’t need to.  Naruto and Hinata dashed to either side as the original Gaara charged Sasuke, drawing the two copies away.  They knew that the intention was to split them up, and as such they forced the fights to take place a safe distance from Sasuke, but not so far that they couldn’t assist one another.

It was soon clear exactly what kind of clones had been created.  They weren’t Shadow Clones, but Gaara and Shukaku had evenly split their chakra between the creations in a similar manner.  The result was a set of substantially weaker adversaries, but one third of a jinchūriki’s chakra was no small amount.

**_His seal is unstable,_** Kurama growled as Naruto clashed with his opponent.  **_Shukaku shouldn’t be able to release this much chakra without coming to his full form._**   Naruto didn’t respond at first.  He was forced to draw more of the Kyūbi’s power after blocking a vicious slash that, despite his successful guard, sent him skidding away and nearly took his balance.  The red cloak flared, and the third tail snaked out to join the others.

_Even his copies are strong,_ he ground out, reengaging.  _But we have to defeat them._   Naruto shot forward, feinting a powerful punch and twisting at the last second.  He bent back and pivoted on one foot, narrowly avoiding a lunge from Gaara’s claws and bringing his heel around to smash into the other boy’s head.  The kick sent the faux jinchūriki crashing to the ground several meters away, and it also left Naruto’s foot a little numb.   _The sand is hard, but at least he’s slow._

**_I doubt these can regenerate like the original.  Avoid taijutsu and focus on destroying him with ninjutsu._ **

_Easier said than done._ The Rasengan was already forming in his hand as the thought came, taking in Kurama’s chakra as it rotated.  _You two had better kick his ass._

* * *

Hinata had yet to let Gaara’s clone so much as touch her.  She whirled around him in a blinding dance, untouchable for all of the effort he was putting in to land a blow.  Her trench knives burned bright blue in her hands, slicing cleanly into any sections of sand they came in contact with.  Gaara was standing still, taking frustrated swipes every few seconds while a bluish blur circled him continuously.  It wasn’t long before he had enough.

A pulse of chakra caught Hinata mid-roll.  It was the same kind of attack that he had used to flatten the surrounding area, though on a much smaller scale.  She gasped as the air was forced from her lungs, but her hands were already racing through seals even as she was thrown back.

“Hakke: Chains of Light!” Silvery ethereal chains flew from her extended hands, binding her adversary in the blink of an eye.  Small sickles on the ends of each dug into the sand covering Gaara’s neck and shoulder, latching firmly to him.  Hinata twisted her wrists, grabbing the chains and halting her flight.  Gaara grunted and was dragged towards her, though his mass stopped him after only a few centimeters.  Hinata pulled hard on the bindings, channeling chakra into her arms and propelling herself forward like a stone from a slingshot.

“Hakke: Sixty-Four Palms!” The first two strikes hit Gaara with tremendous force, stealing his balance and giving Hinata the necessary momentum to continue.  The next four strikes came at an alarming speed, and she only accelerated with each successive blow.  By the time the final set came her movements were barely traceable.  “Sixty-four strikes!”  The chains shattered as the last palm strike landed directly over the bunshin’s heart, lifting him from his feet for a split second before he fell back.  Hinata’s breathing had become labored from maintaining such speeds, and her limbs shook slightly from the strain.

“Brat!” the clone growled, lashing out as he collapsed.  Not yet recovered from her technique, Hinata bit down hard on her lower lip as his claws raked at her shoulder, leaving four deep gashes in her flesh.  She leapt back, putting pressure on her injured shoulder with one hand.  The defeated clone sent a handful of sand spikes at her in a last, spiteful attempt to cause harm before it deteriorated.  She tumbled to one side, taking only a second to confirm that her enemy was gone before rushing to help Sasuke.

* * *

Naruto’s Rasengan collided with Gaara’s bunshin, showering sand in every direction as the sphere dug into his side to create a clean semi-circular gouge.  Naruto spun into a jarring straight kick, already taking in a breath as his hands formed the seals required for the Water Blast technique.  The column of water hit Gaara even as he careened back, dousing him completely and adding a few meters to the distance he traveled.  A small crater formed where he finally landed, weighted down by the inundated sand.  He didn’t wait to see the damage.

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” Two clones appeared beside Naruto, and all three took in a deep breath.  _Fūton: Vacuum Sphere._   Several dozen columns of air slammed into Gaara’s body, breaking off saturated sections of sand where they hit.  The dust and debris kicked up by the jutsu veiled several spikes sent back at Naruto, and before he could even react his clones had been impaled.  Two of them pierced his right leg while three more embedded themselves into his torso, though they thankfully missed any vital points.

**_Be more careful!_** Kurama barked.  Without Naruto’s consent he used the chakra shroud to rip the stakes from his leg, allowing the wounds to begin healing.  Before the others could be removed, however, the ground in front of him cracked open.  Gaara’s clone came bursting from below, catching Naruto’s chin with what would have been a devastating punch had his opponent not been so damaged.  As it was the hit only staggered him, and a loud, agonizing pop indicated that his jaw had been wrenched from one of its sockets.

_Bastard!_ he thought, only because he was unable to say it.  Naruto swung one arm, catching the clone’s neck and digging his claws in deep.  He growled and jerked the other boy’s head down, leaping from the ground to drive his knee straight into Shukaku’s contorted face.  The bunshin’s head exploded, and after several seconds of writhing it lay still.  Naruto landed with a grunt, watching as the copy disintegrated.  He turned then, heedless of his jaw or the spikes still protruding from his abdomen.  _Here we come, Shukaku!_

* * *

However strong the clones were, it seemed the original still possessed a greater amount of the bijū’s chakra.  Sasuke’s swords lay on the ground nearby, one broken cleanly in half and the other missing its grip.  The Uchiha was taking a leaf out of Hinata’s book and simply avoiding each attack, predicting every movement with his Sharingan.

_Genjutsu doesn’t work on him, and the swords are out._   He ducked under a strike and landed a solid punch to Gaara’s chest, though all it appeared to do was make his burned hand sting more.  He spun away before his opponent could counter.  _Taijutsu doesn’t seem to work well unless I dump way too much chakra into each hit.  It’s a good thing he’s made of sand._

Mid-backflip he sent out two fists of shuriken, and as expected Gaara merely lifted a sand-bloated arm to block them.  The projectiles dug in, the majority sinking into the sand while one or two met their marks on an exposed shoulder.  _Raiton: Lightning Shuriken._   In an instant Gaara was lit up like a beacon as lightning raced through the hidden wires and into his body.

“Sand that dense counts as earth,” Sasuke taunted, yanking hard on the wires and bringing Gaara to his knees.  “Lightning beats earth.”  Clouds of dust burst from several cracks that appeared as a result of the current.  _I’ll only have a split second._   He released the technique only after he shot forward, the arcing light of the Chidori already racing up his arm.  The distance between them was closed in a matter of milliseconds, but Gaara wouldn’t be beaten so easily.

The Chidori’s high speed and straight thrust didn’t allow Sasuke enough time to dodge.  Gaara’s hand shot up and grabbed his wrist in a crushing hold, and a second later he was flying upside-down through the air at a breakneck speed.  His wrist protested as he brought his hands together, forming a single dragon seal.  _Katon: Fire Lance!_ A narrow jet of fire flew from his lips and raced towards Gaara.  Against a normal human the attack might have burned a hole completely through, but when it struck the jinchūriki it only seemed to cause him a minor discomfort – that is, until it exploded into a pillar of flame.  At first the technique had only caused a small circle of sand at the center of his chest to melt into glass, but in the next instant it had sparked and erupted violently.

“Sasuke!” Naruto called.  Without having to look Sasuke extended his uninjured arm to one side, finding his friend’s wrist and grasping it tightly.  The blond was dragged back as he slowed the other boy’s momentum, but with a muttered curse he was able to swing him around and down to the ground.  Sasuke landed hard on his feet, immediately dropping to one knee.

“Took you long enough,” the Uchiha breathed, cradling his wrist with his burnt hand.

“They weren’t normal clones; Kurama says they had more chakra than they should have.  Hinata, are you alright?” Naruto only allowed himself to glance at her, keeping his attention on their enemy.  Hinata slid to a stop next to them, her breathing as labored as Sasuke’s.  Even Naruto was feeling winded.

“I’m fine.  Just a few cuts.  You two?” She looked concernedly from Sasuke’s hands to the spikes protruding from Naruto’s chest, willing herself not to revisit the memories from her worst nightmare.

“Broken wrist, burnt hand,” Sasuke listed dismissively, rising slowly.

“Nothing that will keep me from fighting,” Naruto responded, yanking the spikes from his chest one by one.  He winced with each one, and the wounds took much longer to start closing than before.  He braced himself before taking a hand and pulling hard on his left jawline, snapping the bone back into its socket.

“He’s recovering.  We need your hands healed, Sasuke, and the rest of our injuries will slow us down.”  Hinata took a deep breath, lowering her blood stained hand from her shoulder and quickly forming seals.  “Suiton: Soothing Mist.”  She exhaled in a long breath, and as she did millions of tiny droplets flooded out into the air around them.  After a few seconds there was a noticeable soft, greenish light radiating around them, emanating from the mist that now covered the immediate area.

“What . . . ?” Sasuke started, blinking around at the strange technique.  “When did you learn this?”

“I perfected it last week,” Hinata sighed, swaying slightly and catching herself on Naruto’s arm.  “Just keep taking deep breaths and keep your injuries exposed to the air.”  She didn’t have much strength to explain further, but they saw the results immediately.  The burns on Sasuke’s hand were already smoothed away, and the small scrapes and bruises that they all had gained were now gone.  Hinata’s furrowed skin was stitching and sealing itself back together even as the holes in Naruto’s chest closed.  “Just . . . takes a lot of chakra.”

“Here, take this.”  Naruto reached into his belt pouch, withdrawing a soldier pill for Hinata to take.  She nodded and ate it without question, shuddering once before regaining her feet on her own power.  By now Sasuke’s jutsu had died down, leaving a charred Gaara behind.  Even as hurt as he was, the amber eyes of Shukaku still burned with hate.

“You three are strong – _strong, strong, and fun!_ ” He laughed maniacally, and as he did sand began to split off from him again.  This time, however, it didn’t stop at two clones.  “ _More, more, more!  I will drown you in an army of sand!  You will pay for what you did to me!  You will, you will!”_   The sand kept dividing, and he pulled more from the ground to feed the jutsu further.  Team Seven were all crouched and ready, their eyes narrowed as they took stock of their situation.

“I lost count at fifty,” Naruto murmured, eyes flicking around as the clones continued to spawn.  “How strong are they?”

“Only a fraction of what we just fought, but . . . There’s so many.  There’s over a hundred now,” Hinata replied, a definite edge to her voice.

“And they may not be as strong, but they won’t disappear in one hit like Shadow Clones.  I think we should run,” Sasuke offered, sounding as frustrated as he felt.  “There’s no way we can win against that many.  Unless . . .” He trailed off, glancing at his teammates and raising an eyebrow.  “We could try _that_.”

“Do you two have enough chakra left?” Naruto asked, not even having to ask what technique Sasuke was referring to.  He nodded, as did Hinata – her soldier pill would have granted plenty of chakra.  _What do you think?_

**_It hasn’t been perfected yet, but it’s your best option.  You’re all going to have to pour a lot of chakra into it, and if you miss the final attack you might just lose._ **

“Let’s do it.  Get close to me.”  Naruto took up his place between his two friends as the army began to charge.  He brought his hands together before throwing out his arms, unleashing a wave of chakra as the clones converged.  Only the dozen or so at the lead were knocked back, but it gave them time.  “Go!” he yelled, kneeling and dropping both hands to the ground, palms up.  Sasuke and Hinata put a hand on each of his shoulders for balance, stepping into his hands.  Naruto gripped the soles of their tabi, pushing as much chakra into his limbs as possible before thrusting upward with a feral roar.  His arms flew up as he pushed off of the ground, and they leapt upward as soon as his hands were at their peak above his head.

“Move it!” Sasuke yelled back as he and Hinata rocketed upward above the field, the wind howling in their ears.  Naruto crouched again below them, and the Kyūbi’s cloak began to diminish as he forced even more chakra into his legs.  Before he could jump, however, the horde was upon him.

“Naruto!” Hinata’s panicked cry was lost in the rush of air.  She could only watch in horror as the clones reached Naruto and piled atop him, burying him in a mound of flailing limbs and deranged screams.  _Not again . . . Not again . . ._ She squeezed her eyes shut, not allowing her fear to get the better of her.  _He’s okay.  He’ll be next to me soon.  He’s okay._

She was right.

Hinata’s eyes snapped open as a brilliant flash of vermillion illuminated her vision.  Gaara’s clones scattered in every direction, and Naruto was speeding through the air towards them.  He had a few cuts and more bloodied rips in his clothing, but he was alive, and he was wearing his familiar fierce grin as he met the other two.

“Ready?” he called as their progress slowed.  They were a good distance above the battlefield now, and already they could see spikes pouring towards them from below.  Sasuke nodded tightly and extended his hands forward, allowing his lower body to float back.  Naruto and Hinata went horizontal as well, reaching forward and locking hands with each other and Sasuke.  Naruto and Sasuke joined hands to form an ox seal between them, Sasuke and Hinata brought their hands into a hare seal, and Hinata and Naruto’s fingers twined into the snake seal.  As the trio reached the zenith of their jump, they began pouring chakra into the space between them.

There was no clear beginning to the ability, but it took only an instant for it to get underway.  Even as Hinata began forming large orbs of water between them, Sasuke channeled a current of lighting into the center, charging the spheres into conductive balls of energy.  Naruto grunted under his own strain of creating a constant and intense air pressure above the formation.  After a second of concentration, they unleashed the jutsu with a simultaneous, resounding bellow.

“ _Thundering Tempest!”_

Wind crashed down in a violent torrent, carrying the lightning-infused water with it as if they really had created their own storm.  Sasuke and Hinata continued to pour chakra into the gap between them, knowing they had only a short time to create as many orbs as possible.  Naruto scattered them like monstrous water drops, raining destruction down upon Gaara’s army.

It was absolute chaos on the ground.  The spikes that the clones had released had been destroyed by the oncoming bullets, which now rained down in an inescapable gale.  Everywhere they struck the lightning bombs exploded in a shower of electrified liquid, enabling those that didn’t make contact to lash out at nearby enemies.  It took less than ten seconds to let loose several hundred, and by the end there were only a handful of bunshin left.

“Last one,” Naruto coughed, his chest heaving from the effort.  Sasuke and Hinata were in no better condition, but they grit their teeth and focused nonetheless.  They landed as a unit, hitting the ground hard.  Naruto caught Hinata’s arm as her legs crumpled beneath her, and Sasuke helped steady him.  They stood together, each extending one arm towards the original Gaara, hands turned so that all of their palms touched.  A final orb coalesced in front of them, growing rapidly as lightning surged into it.  The surface of the water boiled after several seconds, unable to take on any more of the energy.  “Now!”  A turbulent gust of wind rose up behind them before crashing into the sphere, which was now at least ten times larger than those that had come before it.  The result was a colossal bullet that was now speeding towards its target, cutting a furrow several meters across into the ground as it went.

Gaara couldn’t move.  He sagged forward, glaring at the oncoming projectile with all of the malice he possessed.  Too much chakra had been used and dispersed to the clones, even counting what he could get from Shukaku.  The sand copies had been reduced to charred lumps when they had been struck by the smaller orbs, and he had taken considerable damage himself.

_This isn’t right.  We’re supposed to win.  They’re just . . . They’re just kids!_   His face contorted in fury, but his legs still wouldn’t allow him to move.  The ball of electrified water was nearly upon him, and all he could do was gather sand to dampen the blow.  _Pathetic . . . Pathetic!_

The earth shook as the massive attack hit.  The chakra-laced water on its own could have made a devastating impact, especially propelled at such a speed.  Coupled with the lightning, however, it made for a spectacular display.  Gaara was literally crushed under the force of the initial blow, his form immediately lost underneath.  The orb’s structure collapsed as it hit, breaking into an immense wave that glowed and crackled with the lightning coursing through it.  Naruto clenched his fist then, forcing wind to whip up around where Gaara had fallen.

“Not taking any chances,” he growled, the last wisps of red chakra drifting away from him.  The electrified water whirled as a cyclone came into being, lifting and tossing Gaara’s body around like a ragdoll.  The roiling liquid tore at him, the lightning sent him into tortured spasms, and the wind ripped into him as he was thrown within the maelstrom.  It wasn’t until most of the electricity had found its way into the ground that he released the technique completely.  The vortex broke apart, scattering water everywhere.  Gaara hit the ground with a wet, muted thud, bouncing once before lying completely still.  The protective sand that had covered his body was all but gone, leaving only a battered, bloodied, and blackened youth behind.

Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke sank to the ground, breathing hard and leaning on one another.  Their muscles ached, their bones felt brittle, and their chakra reserves were exhausted.  But they had won.  They sat together in silence for a long moment, soaking in the warmth from the morning sunlight like it was the most wonderful thing they had ever felt.

“Nice touch at the end,” Sasuke said quietly.  His Sharingan had faded already, and he looked upon Gaara with flat black eyes.  “Didn’t know you could do that.”

“Neither did I.” Naruto gave him a tired grin.  “Just made sense at the time.  You both alright to stand?”  His hand had found Hinata’s on its own accord, and he gave it a light squeeze.

“I’m fine,” she breathed, closing her eyes for a moment.  “Just tired.”

“You did use more chakra than we did,” Sasuke commented, hauling himself up with a groan.  "On top of the two Chakra Webs, one Stone Prison, healing me, that mist technique, the Tempest, and keeping your Byakugan active the whole time, what did you use against that clone?”  He offered a hand to each of them, helping them to their feet.

“Chakra knives, Chains of Light, and Sixty-Four Palms,” Hinata replied meekly, wobbling a little and holding onto Naruto’s arm.  “You know that neither of us could have used as much chakra as Naruto.”  She shared a weary smile with Sasuke at that, and the three of them started forward together.  Even though Gaara didn’t seem to be moving any time soon, they approached him warily.

“He’s still alive,” Naruto muttered, shaking his head as they came to a halt.  “Tough guy.”

“I think we say the same about you every day,” Sasuke offered wryly.  “Must come with the jinchūriki territory.”

**_Shukaku probably used the rest of the chakra that he forced into the boy to keep him alive.  Survival is more important to us than anything, after all._ **

“Kill me . . .” They all blinked down at Gaara as his lips cracked open and rasped out the plea.  “Don’t want . . . your mercy.”

“Oh shut up you mad idiot,” Naruto sighed.  “We’re not going to kill you, and it has nothing to do with mercy.  You probably have useful information that the village will want, and I have a few bones to pick with you.”  Although Gaara was unable to open his eyes, his broken expression conveyed plenty of anger.

“You don’t . . . understand me.”

“Oh, we don’t?” the blond asked, raising an eyebrow.  “You’re saying that the Kyūbi’s jinchūriki doesn’t understand anything about the jinchūriki of the Ichibi?  And you think that my friends don’t have a clue after putting up with me so long?”  Gaara remained silent.  “You let Shukaku rule and control you.  The only difference between you and I is that me and Kurama work together.”

**_I’m different than the tanuki,_** the Fox growled, sounding a touch annoyed.  **_The Ichibi is and always has been a bit unhinged, not to mention his view of his vessel as a mere tool.  There’s also a chance that his seal was made to allow Shukaku to influence him, so that he might be made into a greater weapon for Sunagakure._**   Naruto sighed again, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“We can talk about it later.  For now we have to find Jiraiya-sensei.  Just don’t forget: if anybody can understand what you’ve been through, it’s us.”  A second later both Jiraiya and Tsunade appeared beside them, as if in response to Naruto's comment.  The old man had a broad, proud grin spreading from ear to ear.  The kunoichi's expression was unreadable.

"You know," Jiraiya started, unable to keep the mirth from his tone, "I thought that you were being a little over confident when you said that you would take him on your own.  What's Kakashi been feeding you three?"

"A steady diet of training with a sprinkling of mental duress," Sasuke remarked dryly, slumping unceremoniously to the ground.  "You could have helped, you know."

"I could have," the man agreed with a sagely nod.  "But after I saw that Solar Flare of yours . . . Well, let's just say I had complete faith that you'd come out victorious on your own.  You all did your teacher and village proud."  Even as spent as they were, it was hard for them not to smile at his praise.  "I think you even managed to impress Tsunade."

"Very funny," she said flatly.  "You put these kids in danger just to prove a point to me?" Jiraiya scowled, and the genin just blinked at her.  Tsunade rolled her eyes.  "I'm not going to argue that your performance here wasn't remarkable.  Frankly, it was incredible for how young you three are.  But I suspect that it wasn't entirely your decision to engage the jinchūriki on your own, even if you think it was."  Their eyes turned to Jiraiya now, who shrugged nonchalantly.

"I intended to let them fight for as long as was safe for them.  I didn't imagine that they could take him down on their own, but as you can see . . ." He gestured to where Gaara lay on the ground.  "They were able to handle it, and with some impressive teamwork at that.  What do you think of their Will of Fire, Tsun-?"  Right about then Tsunade's fist slammed into his jaw, and Jiraiya all but disappeared.

"You  _moron_!" she yelled as her punch landed.  Jiraiya was sent flying out of sight, passing into the forest at a frightening speed.  Team Seven followed his progress by watching the line of trees falling in his wake as he raced towards a far-off hillside.  A few seconds later the earth shook, and half of the hill cracked before simply exploding outward, expelling rocky debris into the forest below.  Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata all stared wide-eyed, their mouths agape as they looked from the hill and back to Tsunade several times.

"Ano . . ." Naruto swallowed, hesitant to even speak after the woman's monstrous display of strength.  "He ah . . . I don't think what he did was that bad, Tsunade-sama."

"Oh?" She rounded on him, fists on her hips as she glared at the trio.  They paled under her gaze, and Naruto and Hinata subconsciously joined Sasuke on the ground a moment later.  "You think that putting three children in life-threatening danger in order to convince me to return to Konoha isn't 'that bad?'  To possess the Will of Fire doesn't just mean that you fight for the village, or even that you have a duty to protect its citizens.  It is a  _will_  to keep them and your comrades from harm, and to secure a peaceful future for Konoha.  Jiraiya shouldn't have allowed you to risk your lives when it was avoidable.  He even kept me from interfering."

"I . . ." Hinata began, chewing at her lower lip and trying not to sound apprehensive.  "We asked him not to help . . ." Tsunade blinked owlishly down at the girl, causing her to fidget uncomfortably.  "Gaara and Shukaku killed many people when the Sand and Sound attacked, including Naruto.  He's only alive right now because of the Kyūbi."

"I'd be dead if you all weren't there, too," Naruto pointed out.  "But like Hinata said, we asked him to let us do it ourselves.  The Fox sensed that Gaara couldn't transform much more than he already had, so we knew we could take him."

"It was more like a calculated guess."  Sasuke shrugged, loosening up a little.  "And whatever you're talking about with this 'Will of Fire' thing, we did it so that he couldn't come back and harm the village."  He paused for a moment, considering Tsunade's raised eyebrow.  "Revenge was a part of it as well.  We wanted to take care of him ourselves, because we failed to the first time."

"There you have it," Jiraiya grumbled from nearby.  The turned to see him slogging back through the muddy field, rubbing at his bruised jaw with an intensely sour expression.  "The last time you hit me that hard was when I asked you out.  It's been a while." Naruto and his friends stared at him in shock, genuinely surprised that he wasn't dead, or at least severely injured.  The way that he was nursing his injury indicated that his pride had taken a heavier hit than his face.

Tsunade remained silent for a time, studying the trio and mulling over her thoughts.   _I have no legitimate reason to stay away from Konoha . . . Like the brat said.  Dan, Nawaki . . . What would you do?_ She chuckled softly, which was a surprise to everyone.   _Probably chastise me for even considering turning down the position.  It was a dream that you both shared, after all . . . As it is with this one._ Her gaze lingered on Naruto the longest, and even though his eyes could now be mistaken for something malevolent, there was a familiar warmth in them that she had no trouble placing.   _Maybe it’s time to stop running, and instead live out their dream in their stead._

"Who taught you that mist technique, Hinata?  It was hard to see from where we stood, but it looked like you infused the water with a yōton technique." Tsunade approached as she made her inquiry, lifting both hands over their heads.  A blue-green light surged to life and washed over them, and the visible injuries left over from their fight vanished in the span of a few seconds.

"I taught myself, Tsunade-sama," Hinata replied, sounding a mix between humble and curious.  "What do you mean by yōton?  I just . . . learned how to incorporate medical ninjutsu into the water."

"What do you think you're using when you heal somebody?"  Tsunade's question sounded simple, but Hinata stopped when she went to respond, pursing her lips and furrowing her brow.  "It's nothing overly complicated," the woman assured.  "It's the same release used to perform all techniques that aren't affiliated with an element.  It's your innate chakra, in other words, molded in a specific way.  In the same way that you might create a Shadow Clone, you can manipulate it to do a great many things – like medical ninjutsu.  The fact that you taught yourself how to work it in with a water jutsu is very impressive."  Hinata flushed and ducked her head, eliciting a smirk from Tsunade.  "We should return to town; no doubt the lords of Tanzaku will be wondering what happened out here."  She turned on her heel, strolling casually back in the direction from which they had arrived.  "Jiraiya, carry the crispy kid."

"Bossy as ever," Jiraiya muttered, wincing as Tsunade flashed a harsh glare back at him.  "Right, right."  He brought his hands together, still muttering, and his long hair twisted and extended to wrap around Gaara.  The spiky locks bound the boy tightly before lifting him up, suspending him upright next to the Sage.  "You three good to walk?"

"Yes sensei," they chimed together, feeling a touch rejuvenated after Tsunade's brief bout of healing.  Hinata took hold of Naruto’s hand, he slipped an arm under Sasuke’s shoulder for support, and together Team Seven rose to follow after the two Sannin, each wearing a deservedly proud smile.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke fell asleep as soon as they were assured that it was alright to do so.  Tsunade may have fixed their superficial injuries, but nothing save for a long rest would assuage their bone-deep aches and chakra depletion.  Twilight was breaking over the city by the time they awoke, the sounds of hushed conversation rousing them one by one.

“I suppose so . . . I’ll have to talk to him about that, too.”  Tsunade sighed from somewhere within the dimly lit room, sounding significantly less terse than before.  “The boy’s dangerous, and his mental state is unstable.  There’s no doubt that the Sand will be in contact soon.”

“Aye,” Jiraiya murmured, sounding pensive.  “He hasn’t attempted to escape yet, though.  Any time his eyes are open he just stares at Naruto.”

“Can’t say I’m all that surprised; they are both jinchūriki.  I wonder what they were talking about when we got there.”

“We were just telling him that we can understand how he feels.”  Naruto sat up slowly, stifling a yawn before stretching.  “Y’know, about wanting revenge and being a jinchūriki.  It’s not really his fault, sensei; Shukaku’s a lot different than Kurama.”

“We all know that nobody else is going to see it like that,” Sasuke interjected, not bothering to hold back his own yawn before continuing.  “Whether he was in full control or not, he attacked Konoha with the Sand, and he killed a lot of people.  Maybe it isn’t his fault, but the blood on his hands won’t wash away.”

“I’m not so sure,” Hinata said quietly, already sitting with her hands in her lap, examining them distractedly.  “We know that Haku-chan was once a mercenary, and he’s killed a lot of people – he might have even ended the lives of Konoha shinobi.  We forgave and accepted him, even after what he did to us at the bridge.”

“Haku’s different,” Sasuke replied confidently, though he didn’t offer any explanation.  They all knew that it wasn’t the same situation, but some things definitely looked similar.

“Haku was influenced by Zabuza, kind of like how Gaara’s affected by Shukaku.  Maybe if the Ichibi’s gone – or sealed away better – he’ll be okay, too?” Naruto sounded hopeful, eyes turning to where Gaara was confined.  Jiraiya and Tsunade were next to one another near the far wall, sitting cross-legged in front of a simple circle of jutsu-shiki.  Four paper tags were placed equal distances from one another along the edges, and at the center of the circle sat Gaara.  A fifth tag was stuck to his mostly bare chest, and scrawled upon it was the symbol for ‘seal’.  His pale green eyes were open and focused on Naruto, though they wavered to the others every few seconds.

“Nice to see you kids awake and once again discussing things you ought not to,” Jiraiya commented with a wry grin.  “It’ll be up to Sarutobi-sensei, and that’s all there is to it.”  Naruto looked like he wanted to argue, but a sharp look from his teacher convinced him not to.

“Has he said anything yet?” he asked instead, still peering curiously at the auburn-haired boy.

“Not a word,” Tsunade said with a touch of annoyance.  “I’m sure the interrogation unit won’t have trouble getting something out of him, though.”  If her words intimidated Gaara, it didn’t show.  He just kept his eyes forward, staring at Naruto as if he was trying to figure out some great puzzle.  “Now that they’re awake, I think I’ll go out and bring food back.  It may just be ramen, but we can’t risk leaving him here unguarded.  I’ll bring Shizune back as well.”  She pushed herself up with a groan, muttering under her breath about sitting for too long.

“Ramen sounds great,” Naruto said with a grin after she had left.  “I’m sure it won’t compare to Ichiraku, but not much can!”

“Jiraiya-sensei,” Hinata ventured.  “Has Tsunade-sama decided if she’s coming with us yet?”  Jiraiya smiled, nodding emphatically and giving the trio a thumbs-up.

“She’ll be leaving for Konoha with us tomorrow morning.  It seems that some upstart genin managed to get to her, and a particularly annoying one gave her a pretty good reason to consider becoming Hokage.”  They beamed at him.  Naruto, Hinata, and Jiraiya shared a laugh while Sasuke smirked at them, which was an approximately equivalent expression.

“Ah . . . I can’t wait to get back,” Naruto sighed, flopping back onto his bedroll.  I guess it’s only been a week, but with all that’s happened it feels like we’ve been gone a lot longer than that.  I wonder how Iruka-sensei and our friends are doing.”  Hinata slid from her bedroll as he spoke, slipping quietly in next to him.  He smiled fondly, turning on his side to accommodate and slipping an arm around her waist.

“They’re probably bored, comparatively,” Sasuke shrugged.  He glanced to the side, rolling his eyes in mock exasperation.  “Can’t you two wait until you’re alone for that?”  Jiraiya only chuckled before turning back around to Gaara, not wanting to be privy to what was going on next to Sasuke.

“Nope,” Naruto responded smugly, flashing his friend a cheeky grin before snuggling back in with Hinata.  Sasuke gave the couple a half-hearted scowl before falling back and pulling his comforter over his head.  Hinata giggled lightly into Naruto’s chest, already sounding like she was drifting back to sleep.  None of them heard Tsunade and Shizune return, and even the smell of ramen wasn’t enough to wake a soul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks. I hope you enjoyed the action-packed chapter! This was originally going to accompany Chapter 21, but I realized that the fight with Shukaku was going to be over six thousand words on its own. I didn’t want to make Rhi edit a twenty thousand word chapter, although I’m sure she would have ‘cause she’s just great like that. [hart]  
> [Rhi Note: Wes is a sadist, don’t let him lie to you. SO MUCH TO READ.]
> 
> I’ve been looking forward to revealing a bunch of new jutsu I’ve been busy coming up with. What always bothered me about canon was how one-dimensional characters were, and how little variety they showed within their arsenal of abilities. I wanted to stick with their specialties and create a few fun collaboration techniques at the same time, and I hope the result was enjoyable to read. I want Naruto to be the Shadow Clone/wind ninjutsu/Kyūbi guy, for Sasuke to be the fire and lightning ninjutsu/Sharingan/throwing weapons guy, and for Hinata to be the jūken/earth and water ninjutsu/medical ninjutsu girl. But while I do want their signatures to be ever-present, I don’t want to fall into the boring canonical style that has them always use the same thing in every situation always, y’know? Plus coming up with new jutsu ideas is always fun.
> 
> In an effort to make this the longest A/N ever (apparently), I’d also like to note that my interpretation of medical ninjutsu and yōton (yang release) is entirely subjective. It may even be wrong, but there’s not a lot of information to go off of. If you know better than I, feel free to leave a review or PM me about it!
> 
> The guy I commissioned the art piece(s) from is getting a bit swamped right now, so it’s going to be longer than expected until that comes through. The wait will be worth it, I’m sure!
> 
> Thank you for the favorites and follows, for the constructive reviews (and even the one-liners), and really just for reading. I love writing, but it’s you all that keep me writing this story in particular. I’ve got some exciting new stuff planned as we continue the break from canon, so stay tuned.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> \- Wes


	23. Respite

"I don't think I've ever been so happy to see that wall," Naruto groaned, squinting ahead as he stretched.  Konoha's main gate loomed in the distance, marking the end to their journey back home.  Compared to the rest of their mission it had been an incredibly uneventful forty-eight hours.  Much to Tsunade's disapproval – and to Jiraiya's amusement – they had continued with their Hiraishin training as they traveled, though to a much lesser extent.  The three genin were still exhausted from the battle with Gaara, even after two slow days of travel.

"I could do with some time at the hot springs," Sasuke put in.  He stared hard at the marked stone in his hand, appearing to concentrate for a few seconds before shrugging and tossing it into the woods.  "I don't think Kakashi-sensei will mind us taking a day or two off after he hears what happened."

"Hah, you kids will be lucky if he gives you the rest of the day."  Jiraiya guffawed at his own joke, earning him a sharp look from Tsunade.  She might have punched him again had she not been occupied keeping an eye on Gaara.  The boy's arms were bound tightly to his body, wrapped from shoulder to hip in bandages inscribed with jutsu-shiki.  Two straps trailed behind him to either side like leashes, with Tsunade and Shizune holding firmly to the ends.  The jinchūriki's expression had not changed in the slightest since they had departed from Tanzaku.  His flat, emotionless eyes stared blankly ahead as his feet carried him stiffly forward.  He was likely more spent than any of them - he hadn't slept since the attack, either.

"Sensei gives us a lot of leeway when it comes to training," Hinata said with a small smile.  "He lets us decide how often and how long we train, and a lot of the time what we want to work on."

"That’s quite a bit of freedom," Tsunade muttered, shaking her head.  "Doesn't he have a regimen for you to follow?"

"He used to, but then he realized how awesome we are."  Naruto grinned cheekily at the woman, although he amended his statement after Hinata squeezed his hand.  "I mean, he said that since we've always trained basically every day and worked hard that we can manage our schedule, or something like that.  Mostly he just watches and tells us what we need to work on more.  I usually have to do extra genjutsu training."  He made a face, and was rewarded with a small smile from Tsunade.

"I noticed that you’re all fairly well rounded, though it's plain to see that you've begun growing into your specialties."  The trio all glanced at her curiously, and she raised a quizzical eyebrow.  "Since you've always trained together, I assume that you purposefully chose different abilities to focus on.”

"What do you mean, Tsunade-sama?" Naruto asked.  The Sannin eyed him dubiously, like she was trying to figure out of he was joking or not.

"You seem to have a knack for taijutsu, a skill that's easily augmented by the Kyūbi's chakra.  The ninjutsu that you know tend to consume a lot of chakra as well, which again plays to your strengths in that your chakra capacity far exceeds any genin I've ever seen.  I'd wager that you have more chakra than most jōnin, too."  She nodded at Sasuke then, continuing as they approached the main gate.  "Sasuke seems to have taken naturally to ninjutsu – namely the signature fire techniques of the Uchiha, and from what I've been told he's quite adept with weapons of all kinds.  That sequence with the shuriken and lightning jutsu was clever."  The Uchiha shrugged before she moved on.  "I'm sure that I don't have to point out your strengths, Hinata.  Outside of your obvious capabilities with medical and barrier ninjutsu, it was hard to keep track of you on the battlefield for how fast you were moving.  I’d be tempted to call your abilities prodigious if I wasn’t aware of how much training you three do together.  And you expect me to believe that these were just your natural talents, and not purposefully developed?”

“Oh,” Naruto responded eloquently.  “Well I mean, I was always good with taijutsu, and the Fox’s chakra helps a lot.  I guess Hinata started learning things that I couldn’t, and Sasuke did the same thing, and . . .”

“The short answer is: yes, we trained to specifically cover each other’s weaknesses,” Sasuke interjected.  “Naruto used to suck at ninjutsu, so Hinata and I picked up the slack.  He helped us develop our taijutsu and stamina in return, and slowly got better with ninjutsu in the meantime.  After meeting Team Gai, we decided it would be a good idea to have somebody versed in bukijutsu.  I was already the most capable with projectiles, so it was natural that I start practicing with as many as possible.”

“I started teaching myself rudimentary medical ninjutsu after our mission to the Wave Country.  All three of us nearly died . . . and I know that being a shinobi will put us in those situations often.  If I can reduce the chance that we’ll be hurt, or at least fix the damage afterwards – even if by a small amount – then it’s more than worth learning.  It’s vital.”  Tsunade afforded Hinata an approving nod at that, unable to hide her smirk.

“You sound a little like me some thirty years ago,” the woman sighed, looking to the blue sky.  “I was the one who proposed placing a medic-nin on every team during the war, and I still believe one should be present in every group.  In any case,” she continued, eyeing Konoha’s gate, “You three will be remarkable ninja one day, that’s for sure.”

“As if they’re not already.” Jiraiya winked back at the trio, and they beamed in tired appreciation for the compliment.

“State your name and reason for your visit,” a bored voice drawled from nearby.  The party stopped abruptly and glanced aside.  They had just passed through the gate, and as usual the small post nearby was being manned by Kotetsu and Izumo.  The former hadn’t looked up at them, instead looking disinterestedly down at the entry log while tapping a pencil on the counter.  Izumo’s arms were folded on the tabletop, his head down with a bit of drool pooling below his mouth.  His snoring was nearly loud enough to drown on Kotetsu’s second statement.  “Also give us the name of the village and country that you’re coming from.”  He stifled a yawn.

“Remind me to do something about our security situation once I’m Hokage,” Tsunade muttered to Jiraiya, starting to move again without responding to the guards.  The conscious guard whipped his head up, his eyes going wide when he realized who it was.  He scanned numbly over the group; it held two Sannin and Suna’s jinchūriki.  Team Seven was almost an afterthought to that.

“I ah . . . I mean . . . W-we . . .” he stammered, at a complete loss for words.  The chūnin was on his feet now, and there were beads of sweat forming on his brow.

“Calm down and go inform the Sandaime that we’re here,” Jiraiya instructed calmly.  “Might want to wake him up first, though.”  Kotetsu nodded quickly, turning to slap his friend awake.

“Ow!” Izumo jolted upright, bleary eyes filled with confused anger at being so abruptly and painfully woken.  “What was that f–” He stopped when his gaze finally focused on the people in front of him.  “Oh . . . Oh!”

“Man the gate while I go to the Hokage,” Kotetsu said briskly, not giving the other man a chance to respond before he was gone in a puff of smoke.

“Jiraiya-sensei, do we need to go with you to give the report?” Naruto asked, a touch of hopefulness in his voice.  “I kinda want to change and take a bath.”

“Report?  Who said I had to give a report?” Jiraiya balked at the suggestion, though he scowled at a sharp look from Tsunade.  “Fine, fine.  Yeah you can go do whatever.  If you see Kakashi, though, you’d better fill him in.”

“Yes, sensei,” the three of them chimed, sharing a look between them before bounding off together.  The Sage watched as they retreated, smirking slightly.

_Get some rest.  You’ve earned it, kids._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

It had barely been a week since Team Seven had left with Jiraiya, but that didn't stop Iruka from exuberantly welcoming Hinata and Naruto home.  They both received a tight hug and a proverbial onslaught of joyous chatter, followed immediately by his concern at their condition.

"We're alright, Iruka-sensei," Naruto insisted, pulling a white t-shirt with a whirlpool insignia over his head.  "Just tired and a little dirty.  Jiraiya-sensei didn't want to wait to bring Gaara back for interrogation, so we didn't get the chance to clean up before we left Tanzaku."

"Alright . . . Sorry, I just worry about you three."  The chūnin smiled apologetically, and Naruto flashed him a grin.

"I know, but we always watch each other's back.  You shoulda seen us, though," he bubbled.  "Me and Sasuke  _almost_ got the Solar Flare right, but it was still awesome and worked well enough.  He and Hinata did the barrier perfect, too.  Oh man, and all of the techniques and how fast she was!  She did this really cool medical jutsu  . . ."  The blond carried on about his friends for a minute or two before Hinata came back to the living room, wearing a faded pair of capris and a plain, slightly large black shirt.

"I'm just glad we're all safe," she offered, slipping her hand into Naruto's with only the barest blush.  Even after living in Iruka's home for so long – and knowing that he was completely fine with their relationship – it was difficult to act casually before the man that had once been their teacher, and was still like a parent to her.

"As am I," Iruka agreed, smiling at the couple.  "Alright, go enjoy yourselves.  I'll have a nice dinner ready for when you get back."

"Thanks Iruka-sensei!" Naruto chirped.  He and Hinata exited the apartment with a final wave, deciding to walk slowly to the bath house rather than taking to the rooftops.  After all of the excitement and tribulations during the search for Tsunade, it was nice to be able to stroll through the city streets without worrying about being attacked.  At least, not worrying too much.

"Do you think Akatsuki will come back?" Hinata asked quietly.  Only then did Naruto realize that she was gripping his hand a tighter than normal.

"Eventually, yeah," he shrugged.  It wasn't something he had been trying to dwell on.  "All we can really do is keep training and be careful, right?"

" _You_  need to be careful, you mean.  They're after you, Naruto."

"No, I do mean we," he corrected gently.  She glanced aside at him, trying to decide between a concerned retort and confused inquiry.  "They may be after me – or I guess Kurama, but you and Sasuke are pretty much always with me too.  And if they don't need you . . . They would probably just try to kill you to make it easier to capture me."  Hinata blanched, more in reaction to his matter-of-fact tone.  Nevertheless, it was true, and she knew it as well as he did.  "Honestly, I'm more worried about Orochimaru right now."

"I might be the only one of us who doesn't have any S-rank missing-nin trying to get me," Hinata said.  The words came out uncharacteristically dry and bitter, and she had to stop for a moment to regain her usual temperament.  "I'm sorry, it's just . . . I don't understand why so many forces seem to be conspiring against us.  I feel like we have enemies no matter where we turn."

"That's the world we live in, I guess."  Naruto gave her a tired smile.  "It's up to us to change it, though, right?  Maybe one day we'll live in a time of peace, when the world doesn't need ninjas anymore, and when our friends and family don't have to die protecting the village."  Hinata took a deep, steadying breath before nodding solemnly.  A faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips; occasionally, Naruto could say something truly profound.

The Konoha hot springs was a popular place, especially for shinobi looking to wind down after a day's training or missions.  It was early enough in the day, however, that the place was virtually deserted.  Sasuke was standing outside talking to Sakura when Naruto and Hinata arrived, and after a brief exchange the arriving couple went inside.

"I don't know, Sasuke-kun," Sakura continued as the pair left, shrugging uncomfortably.  "I know it's what I wanted for a long time, but it doesn't . . . feel right, you know?"

"Did you expect fireworks and a parade after you kissed me?" he asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow.  "I mean, sorry it's not living up to your expectations, but–"

"That's not what I mean," she sighed, interrupting him.  "It's just that I think  _I_  moved it along too fast.  I'd been after you for what feels like forever, and after what happened during the exams . . . I just felt like I needed to take a chance.  I would have regretted it all my life if you'd . . . If you'd died, and I never acted on my feelings."

"That's a revelation I've heard somewhere before," Sasuke commented wryly.  Sakura cast him an annoyed look, but when she opened her mouth to snap back he held up a conciliatory hand.  "Sorry.  I didn't actually mean it that way.  If you want to backtrack that's fine, as long as you don't complain about it later."

"Since when do I complain?"

"Since when do you not?" He smirked, and she punched him playfully on the shoulder.  It actually caused him to stumble back a few paces.   _Tsunade the Second, up and coming._

"Besides, I think you need to get your own feelings worked out," she continued as they entered the bath house together.  He was about to ask what she was talking about when she grinned mischievously, nodding down the hall.  Haku was standing there in his floral kimono, holding two towels and looking around nervously.  When he spotted them he smiled and waved, though he frowned worriedly at Sasuke's sudden scowl.

"Whatever."

"Sasuke-kun, are you  _blushing_?"

"Oh shut up and go take your bath, you meddling ass."

"You want to see meddling, huh?  Hey Haku-chan!" She beckoned the boy over, smiling sweetly all the while.  "Why don't you come take a bath with us instead of the boys?  We should talk!"

"I . . ." Haku started, blinking at her confusedly.  "Aren't the baths here separated by gender?"

"Sure they are, but if you wear your towel right then nobody's going to be able to tell the difference.  C'mon, it'll be fun!  Like a little adventure."

"Sakura, you can't seriously–" Sasuke started, interrupted after a second when he was pushed out of the way by Sakura gleefully dragging the other hapless boy towards the women's side of the building.  His meek protests were all but ignored by the girl, who was already talking his ear off.  Haku's distressed features disappeared around the corner a moment later, leaving Sasuke to stare after them, equal parts dumbfounded, indignant, and amused.  Naruto poked his head out from behind a nearby curtain, wondering what the commotion had been about.

"What's up, Sasuke?" he asked, unaware of what had just happened.

"I'm in trouble," Sasuke groaned.

* * *

 Hinata squeaked when she saw Haku pushed through the door to the changing room, immediately disappearing behind an open locker.  Her clothes were already inside, and she was covered by a towel fastened securely around her torso.  "H-Haku!  What are you doing . . . here?"  Sakura came in just behind, still pushing the boy along bodily.

"Oh, hey Hinata-san.  Haku decided to join us girls today.  No peeking while I change, okay?"  The boy nodded numbly.  It was clear that he was less embarrassed about being in the incorrect changing room than he ought to be, but then again he  _had_ masqueraded as a young woman on more than one occasion while in league with Zabuza.  Still, while he was used to pretending to be female this was a little more in-depth than he had bargained for.  Hinata's eyes softened, losing the modicum of panic and gaining instead a bit of sympathy.

"It's alright, Haku-chan.  You can use one of the changing rooms if you want."  She crept out from behind the locker, motioning to a door set at the end of one row of lockers.  "I'll wait for you here."  He started before nodding with an appreciative smile, hurrying to the indicated room and shuffling inside.  "Um . . . Sakura-san?" Hinata continued once the boy was safely behind closed doors.  "Not that I don't like Haku, but why did you bring him here?"

"I wanted to talk to him without Sasuke around, and I knew you were here," Sakura said, now a bit more reserved.  "Haku is a lot more feminine than any guy I know.  Hell, he's more girly than most girls I know.  Plus . . ."  She glanced furtively to one side, as if to make sure they weren't being overheard.  "I think he likes Sasuke-kun!"  Hinata blinked owlishly at the other girl, trying to figure out if she was being serious or making some kind of joke about her own ignorance.  After a few seconds it became apparent that she was serious, as her raised eyebrows seemed to say 'You think so, too?'

"I think he does, too," Hinata affirmed tentatively, not wanting to commit so soon to whatever the pink-haired kunoichi was planning.  "But I thought you and Sasuke were . . . ?"

"Welllll . . . Kind of, I guess.  It's really strange."  Sakura seemed to struggle to find the right words for a moment, taking the time to start changing while gathering her thoughts.  "I used to like Sasuke-kun a lot; it might have been a bit of an obsession, even.  But after we started talking and spending time together, that all eventually faded.  I still like him, I think . . . It's just that he's a lot different than I expected him to be.  He talks about Haku an awful lot, too."  She smirked, tying her towel before placing her clothes in the locker.  "I think Sasuke likes him.  I guess that'll happen when you live with somebody for a while."

"He always denies it," Hinata started, chewing thoughtfully at her lower lip.  "But I think he and Haku have a lot in common, and they identify with each other.  And I guess . . . living together can help relationships develop."  She did her best to keep the blush from her cheeks, but Sakura's giggles brought it on with full force.  "W-what?"

"You and Naruto are so cute.  Who would have thought that he'd have grown up like this after the way he used to be?"  She hesitated for a moment before continuing, as if unsure that she wanted to go on.  "Does it . . . Does it scare you at all, Hinata?  The Kyūbi, I mean.  That it's . . . inside of Naruto?"

"Not at all."  The simple, honest reply seemed to catch Sakura off guard, and Hinata smiled softly.  "The Kyūbi has directly saved Naruto's life three times now.  Once while we were in the academy and Mizuki attacked us, again on our mission to the Land of Waves when he used up all of his chakra, and most recently when he . . ." She stopped abruptly, unable to finish the sentence for its content.  "The Fox isn't something to be feared, Sakura-san.  He saved countless lives in addition to Naruto's.  I couldn't imagine what might have happened if things had gone differently."  Hinata realized that, by that admission, she was saying that Naruto's death that day had been essential to saving Konoha.  She shivered.  Fate was a twisted thing.

The door behind them opened then, and the two girls turned to see Haku standing there, fidgeting with his towel and trying to get it to stay up and covering his chest.  He came dangerously close to letting it fall several times before Hinata flushed and stepped over to help him fasten it securely.  He gave her a thankful, sheepish grin before following them to the bathing area.  In the past he wouldn't have batted an eyelash over entering a women's bath for a mission, but since living in Konoha he had developed more social skills and mannerisms than he cared to admit.  One of which was noting how separate the sexes were in many areas of society.

"Why are there different sides for different genders?" he asked curiously, looking around at the largely empty hot springs.  There were one or two other older women there, minding their own business and relaxing in the water.  "I never understood it."

"Because boys and girls have different 'parts.'" Sakura explained frankly, easing herself into the water and wincing every few seconds.  Hinata was already sitting down, submerged up to her neck as she leaned back with a pleasurable sigh.  "Are you a pervert or something?"

"What's a pervert?" Haku seemed genuinely confused, and entirely unperturbed by the scalding liquid.  "Everyone knows what 'parts' everybody else has.  Why is it so important to keep everything hidden?"  Sakura stared at him for a long moment before narrowing her eyes.  He was being serious.  This was going to take some explaining.

* * *

 “Ah,” Naruto sighed, floating on his back in the empty spring.  “Exactly what I need after that mission.”

“Tell me about it,” Sasuke muttered, leaning back against the side wall with his eyes closed.  “Hopefully that’ll be the last we see of Gaara, unless we’re invited to his execution.”  A few seconds of silence caused the boy to open one eye to see why his friend was being so quiet.  “Right?”

“I don’t really know, Sasuke.  It’s not that simple . . . for me, at least.”  Naruto seemed genuinely uncomfortable with the topic, and if he were to be honest it was difficult to decide how he really did feel about Gaara.  On one hand he had been a puppet of both the Sand and the Ichibi, used against his will from before he had a chance to decide for himself.  On the other hand, of his own volition or not he had destroyed half of Konoha, killed hundreds of people – including Naruto and his closest friends.  As a shinobi of the Leaf he had a right to demand justice, but as a jinchūriki . . . everything was more complicated, if only because he could sympathize with the other boy.  “I don’t know,” he repeated lamely.

“It’s not always as cut and dry as it seems, I guess,” Sasuke shrugged.  Naruto blinked over at him in surprise; he hadn’t expected the Uchiha to be so quick to reconsider, let alone agree.  “Nothing against you, but I can see how you might have turned out a lot like him if Iruka-sensei hadn’t taken you in, or if Kurama had been different than he is.  Hell, you can probably thank me and Hinata while you’re at it.”  He smirked, and the action was returned in excess.

“Yeah . . . I was really lucky.  I wonder how Gaara could’ve turned out if he’d had friends like I did.”

“Or a bijū that wasn’t completely nuts.”

“That, too.”  Naruto sighed again, submerging completely before coming back upright thoroughly soaked and steaming.  “Maybe we should talk to Jiraiya-sensei, or the Hokage?  I want to talk to Gaara a little more; he wouldn’t say a word all the way back.”

“At the very least we could try to convince them to just reseal Shukaku.  In the best case scenario Gaara might be . . . left as a prisoner for the rest of his life.”  Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair, irritated.  “He reminds of Haku, in a way.  In a much more dangerous, psychotic way, I guess.”

“Speaking of Haku . . .” It was hard to keep the mischievous light from his eyes, a sight that made Sasuke roll his eyes.  “What?  Come on Sasuke.  You’ve been avoiding it forever, and since you and Sakura are a thing now I figure you can finally clear the air at least.”

“What is it that you want me to say?” Sasuke all but snapped, catching Naruto off guard.  “I’m not made for relationships like you and Hinata.  I already told you that I don’t have time.  Besides, Sakura and I aren’t ‘a thing’ after one kiss.”  The blond boy raised an accusing eyebrow, eliciting a groan from his friend.  “Even after a _lot_ of them.  She told me earlier that I need to get my feelings worked out before we get involved, or something to that effect.”

“Feelings for her?  I thought she’s always had a crush on you; why would she back out now?”

“No . . . apparently she’s also on the ‘Hasuke’ bandwagon.”  Naruto snorted.

“What?  Hasuke?”

“Hinata came up with it and thinks it’s cute, and now she won’t stop using it whenever she decides to bring up Haku around me.  Thankfully you distract her enough so that we’re rarely alone together.”  Sasuke scowled as Naruto began to laugh.  It took a few seconds to get control of himself again, and when that finally happened all he could do was shake his head.

“Sasuke, is the water just too hot for you, or are you blushing?”  He dodged a punch that had a touch more than playful force in it.  “Fine, fine, whatever.  You work it out.  I’ll just be sure to be there to tell you that I told you so later.  And I’m sure that Hinata will be, too.”  One cheeky grin later and he was underwater, held down by a red faced Sasuke.  It was, of course, entirely in jest, and the stream of bubbles continuously rising from below could only be interpreted as Naruto’s excellent humor.  There was no way that he would hold the blond down for too long on accident.  No way at all.

* * *

 “And that’s probably why clothes were invented in the first place,” Sakura finished, looking expectantly at Haku while Hinata just stared blankly at her.  The boy was either speechless, completely unfazed, or still hopelessly confused.  At this point, she would take all of the above.  “Anyway, you’re not here to talk about . . . that.”

“Right . . . we’re here to relax, aren’t we?” Haku asked hesitantly, already thrown off by the girl’s passion for all things anatomical and garment-related.  He glanced nervously at Hinata, who gave him a small, slightly concerned smile while she tread water nearby.

“Of course we are,” she said unconvincingly.  “But you’re in the girl’s side of the bath house now, and here we talk about boys.” He blinked at her several times, as if not quite comprehending her implication.  “So,” she continued, settling down again with the water at shoulder level, “Who’s your crush?”

“Crush?” The boy raised a curious eyebrow, then furrowed both as if puzzled.

“You know, somebody that you like a lot and want to be with.” The explanation didn’t alter his expression much.  Sakura sighed and looked to Hinata for help, but the other girl was focused very intently on the ripples made from droplets falling from her bangs.  It was clear that the Hyūga wasn’t going to be of much assistance on the matter, most likely to avoid personal bias.  “C’mon, there has to be someone!”

"I . . ." Haku hesitated, fidgeting with the hem of his towel.  "Not really, no."  He put on his best faux smile, wondering all the while what she was getting at.  Wasn't it enough that she was dating Sasuke without having to rub it in?

"No?  Hm, well!" she started, scooting a little closer to him with a devious light in her eyes.  "I think I know somebody who has a crush on you!"  The boy looked up at her quickly, at first genuinely surprised before his expression turned to one reflecting his skepticism.

"I'm not so sure about that, Sakura-san.  I don't know many people, and those who I do are committed to somebody already."

"What about Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked without preamble, eliciting a shocked look from Haku.

"He's your boyfriend," he laughed, the sound coming out a bit hollow.  It died off when he saw her quirked eyebrow and mischievous grin.  ". . . Right?"

"Nope.  We're not really in a relationship, because I don't think he's worked out his feelings yet.  His feelings for me  _or_ for you, Haku-chan."  The boy couldn't do anything but stare at her, his lips parted slightly as he tried to work through what she had just told him.  Sakura turned to Hinata, looking for a bit of assistance explaining.  To her credit, the Hyūga was just as surprised as Haku at what they had just gleaned from the other girl, but she could at least interpret better what Sakura was trying to say.

"I think what she means is . . . You still have a chance to tell him how you really feel," Hinata began quietly, taking a seat on Haku's other side.  "I don't think Sakura-san is going to stop pursuing Sasuke, but if they're not together it means that you can be honest with him too.  It would make you two friendly rivals, in a way, and it would be up to Sasuke to decide then."

It took a long time for everything to process for Haku.  On one hand, everybody seemed to know how he felt about Sasuke, and now he had the chance to be honest about it.  On the other hand, he didn't want to put Sasuke on the spot, or make him have to choose between two people he cared about.  It would be easier to not say anything, to just let him and Sakura be together.  Sasuke could be happy that way, and he was sure that he could be happy too.  He was sure of it.  Probably.

"Can . . . can we be friends, even if we're rivals?" Haku asked tentatively.

"If you were Ino I'd say no," Sakura giggled, though he got the feeling that she was being serious.  "But from how he speaks of you, I know that you're a nice person, and only want what's best for him.  Of course we can be friends!"

"Friends, then," Haku smiled, holding out a hand.  Sakura returned his smile and took his hand, shaking it once.

"Friends, and rivals."  She winked, and they both broke into a fit of giggles before lapsing into excited conversation about their favorite topic: Sasuke.  Hinata sat close by, shaking her head in bewilderment as she watched the most unlikely friendship blossom.  Regardless of the improbability, however, she couldn't help but laugh along with them and join in.  Their exuberance was infectious, and she did her part in sharing stories about Sasuke from their youth, most of which were humorous.  Haku was finally relaxed, the tension from earlier melting away with the conversation and soothing water.

_I'm proud of you, Haku, to have come so far in such a short time.  Sasuke is lucky to have somebody like you that cares so much for him._

“So, Hinata,” Sakura started again, snapping the other girl out of her reverie.  Hinata had been staring off at the wall, which she knew divided the men’s area from the women’s.  She flushed and turned her attention back to her companions, thankful that the heat and steam hid the color well.  “How’re you and Naruto?  Done anything adventurous yet?”

“We’re wonderful,” she answered honestly, though hesitated at the second inquiry.  “Adventurous . . . how?”

“Like sex?” Haku suggested, apparently unconcerned with the fact that the girls were three years his junior, or the fact that his comment might be considered inappropriate.  Sakura choked on a fit of laughter as Hinata’s blush turned critical; there seemed to be quite a bit of extra steam rising from where she was sitting.

“H-Haku!” she exclaimed, chagrined beyond belief.

“What?” He shrugged innocently, unaware of what he had said that was wrong.  “Isn’t that what couples do in relationships?”

“No!  I mean, yes, but later!” Hinata found herself frantically trying to explain what Iruka had imparted to her and Naruto not a month prior, and by the end of it Haku looked incredibly confused.

“So . . . you will do it, just not yet?” he asked, sure he had stumbled upon the right answer.  “Relationships are weird.”  He wrinkled his nose, and the poor Hyūga girl could do nothing but sink down into the water until all that could be seen was her hairline.

“I think that means ‘probably,’” Sakura said in between gasps, finally able to suppress her merriment long enough to get a few words out.  “Oh man, I hope you’re not this open with Sasuke-kun, or I’m going to have my work cut out for me!”  Hinata resurfaced fully at some point, still bright as could be.  “I forgot to ask earlier, Hinata, but you can see through stuff with your Byakugan, right?” A woozy nod was her only response; it appeared the brunette was on the verge of fainting from the combination of heat and embarrassment.  “Did you already take a peek through the wall to check on the boys?”

* * *

 “What happened to Hinata?” Naruto asked, voice full of concern as Sakura and Haku came outside to meet them.  The older boy was carrying the girl in question awkwardly, and he looked a touch ashamed.

“We–” he started, immediately cut off by Sakura.

“She stayed in too long and fainted, obviously.” The pink-haired kunoichi gave a sagely nod at her own explanation, which only half fooled Sasuke and Naruto.  “You should probably take her home to lie down, Naruto.”

“No, he was planning to for a jog while carrying his unconscious girlfriend,” Sasuke commented dryly.  Sakura gave him an annoyed look before helping Haku situate Hinata on Naruto’s back, draping her arms over his shoulders while he held her legs for support.

“Alright, thanks guys.  Sasuke, if you see Kakashi-sensei let him know that we’re going to be taking a few days off to recuperate.  I’ma go home and sleep for as long as I can manage.”  Naruto grinned and nodded to his friends in lieu of waving, turning to start for the apartment and walking as carefully as he could as to not jostle Hinata.

“They’re so cute,” Sakura sighed, nudging Sasuke roughly.  “And hey, what’s with him just saying you’re taking days off?  Doesn’t your jōnin instructor get to decide that?”

“We make our own schedule,” Sasuke shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets and starting back towards his place.  “And since we just took down a jinchūriki on our own, I think we can take some time to rest without feeling guilty.  Don’t you?”

“Definitely,” Haku piped up, falling into step next to him.  His gait was a bit stiffer than normal – a telltale sign of his nervousness.  “Oh, I can make your favorite onigiri with the dried tuna and tomatoes!  It’ll be my welcome home present to you.”

“Thanks, Haku,” Sasuke replied evenly.  “Don’t forget to make some with roe and kelp for you; if you’re making my favorite, you’d better have some of yours too.”  Haku smiled broadly and nodded with no small amount of exuberance, and the Uchiha tried not to notice the other boy’s flush lest it become contagious.

_Didn’t take long for me to get outdone,_ Sakura mused to herself, walking just a pace behind Sasuke on his other side.  _I’ll let him have today, though._ “I need to be getting home.  Will I see you tomorrow, Sasuke-kun?”

“If I ever wake up, sure.  Just stop by whenever and we can figure something out.”  Sometimes his nonchalance was painful.  Sakura beamed nonetheless, waving to the two boys before heading off.  Haku watched after her for a time, the corners of his lips threatening to turn down into a frown.  “What’s up?” Sasuke asked curiously, glancing aside at his friend.  “Did Sakura do something weird to you in the bath house?”

“No, no,” Haku said quickly, snapping his attention back front.  “Just thinking, that’s all.  I’m glad you’re back, Sasuke-kun.  I . . . I missed you.”  He fidgeted with the fold in his kimono while he spoke, very conscious of how intimate the statement was.  Sasuke blinked at him for a few seconds before the slightest tinge of pink started to rise in his cheeks, and he quickly looked away and coughed.

“I ah . . .” Sasuke started, wondering why his heart rate was up all of a sudden.  “It’s good to be back,” he finished lamely, lapsing into an awkward silence immediately after.  Haku only smiled, accepting the statement as the other boy’s equivalent return.  Sasuke was sometimes hard to understand, but he had spent the last few months learning how the Uchiha behaved, and to a large degree why he acted that way.  Haku knew that the neutral statement offered more than it seemed.  It was a start.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Dusk had fallen over Konoha by the time Naruto neared their street.  Hinata had become semi-conscious at some point, enough to mumble her thanks and nuzzle into the nape of his neck.  He smiled when her arms moved to wrap loosely around his neck.  “You’re cute, you know that?”  The only response he received was a contented sigh and deeper breathing, indicating that she was already fast asleep.  He chuckled, making the final turn towards their apartment and abruptly freezing.

Four figures were coming down the road from the opposite direction, two shorter individuals flanked by two very recognizable taller ones.  Kakashi and Gai walked as silent escorts behind two genin that Naruto had never expected to see again: Temari and Kankurō.

“What’re they doing here?” he asked tightly.  The procession stopped in front of him, the jōnin glancing at one another while the Suna-nin looked a mix between uncomfortable and agitated.

“They are emissaries from the Sand,” Kakashi stated calmly.  “They’ve come to speak to the Hokage about Gaara, and they have been granted immunity for the duration of their stay.”  The last part was added specifically for him, Naruto knew, but he wasn’t about to try anything, especially while carrying Hinata.

“You already know what happened, then?” the blond asked.

“I was present for Jiraiya’s report to the Hokage; I heard that you had returned, and naturally I wanted to see what occurred on your mission.  Well done, Naruto.  You three really proved yourselves defeating a jinchūriki on your own.”  Naruto only got the chance to grin sheepishly before Kankurō cut in with an affronted inquiry.

“You mean it was _you_ three that took down Gaara?!” His eyes were wide as he looked from Naruto to what he could see of Hinata just past his shoulder.  Temari didn’t seem quite as astonished, though there was a definite note of disbelief on her features.

“Yeah, it was us,” Naruto shrugged, the action causing Hinata to make a small sound of discomfort.  “Oops, sorry,” he whispered, waiting a few seconds to make sure she was still asleep before readdressing the other boy.  Kakashi and Gai were smirking at him, and even Temari looked like she wanted to express how adorable that had been.  Naruto flushed lightly and went on, ignoring their looks.  “Hyūga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto.  Don’t forget those names the next time you think about messing with Konoha.”

“Naruto,” Kakashi started crossly, but next to him Gai interjected exuberantly.

“Yosh!  Well said, Naruto-kun!” He beamed and gave Naruto a thumbs-up.  Kakashi gave him a flat look before shaking his head and sighing.

“You . . .!” Kankurō snarled, stopping with a wince as Temari elbowed him urgently in the side.  He coughed once, then muttered, “We’ll remember.”

“And ah . . . I hope you can help Gaara out.” All parties present blinked in surprise at that, and Naruto fidgeted a little under their gaze.  “I don’t think he’s really a bad person.  I talked to him a little, and . . . He didn’t have a choice in becoming Shukaku’s jinchūriki, just like I didn’t get a say in whether or not I received the Kyūbi.” His choice to use the word ‘received’ rather than any other certainly got their attention.  “But the Ichibi made him into something he’s not, and I think that he had a lot tougher time than I did growing up.  I just hope he can be helped, that’s all.”

“You really think that Gaara can be saved?” Temari asked sincerely, ignoring her brother’s sharp look.  Naruto nodded confidently, offering the girl a small smile.

“Definitely.”  Temari stared at him for a long moment before nodding back, returning his smile with one of her own.

“We need to get going,” Gai said apologetically.  “The Hokage is expecting us.”

“Okay.  Oh, Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto said as they began to walk past.  “We’re going to take some time off from training and missions, if that’s okay.  Can we start back up in two or three days?”

“Of course,” Kakashi responded, not breaking stride.  “You’ve earned it.”

A few minutes later Naruto was carefully depositing Hinata on her bed, though it was difficult to get her to stop holding onto him.  Once she was settled and the blankets were pulled up, he planted a quick kiss on her forehead before quietly exiting the room, only to find Iruka in the living room smirking at him.

“That was thoughtful of you,” he said from his armchair, going back to the papers he was looking over.  “I didn’t realize you all were quite that tired.”

“Sakura-san said that she stayed in the hot springs too long and the heat got to her,” Naruto shrugged, slumping onto the couch with a heavy sigh.  “The exhaustion probably had something to do with it, though.  I didn’t run dry on chakra like they did though; Hinata did twice.”  He shook his head, smiling faintly with half-lidded eyes.  “She’s amazing, Iruka-sensei.  You shoulda seen it . . .”

“You’re all amazing, in my opinion.  Hey, Naruto, what do you think of these apartments?  I did some looking around while you were gone and . . .” The chūnin trailed off when he looked up to see Naruto already dozing, having fallen asleep sitting up on the couch.  Iruka chuckled and stood up, moving to lay him down on the sofa.  “We can talk about it later,” he said softly, draping a blanket over the blond.  “Rest, now.  You’ve earned it.”

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“I need to learn how to make onigiri as good as yours,” Sasuke sighed, setting his plate down and collapsing onto his balcony chair.

“I’m glad you liked it, Sasuke-kun,” Haku replied blithely, glowing at the compliment.  “I can teach you if you’d like, now that you have some time off.”  The older boy yawned, rubbing tiredly at his eyes.  “I think the hot springs made me sleepy.  I’m going to head to bed; will you be in soon?” he asked tentatively, hoping the question didn’t seem too out of place.

“Yeah, I’m just going to sit out here for a while.  Sleep well.” Sasuke closed his eyes and waved a tired hand at his friend, who nodded and moved to the sliding glass door.  Haku lingered for a moment, chewing at the inside of his lip as he glanced back.  His mouth opened and closed several times, but no words came out.  He shook his head, slipping through the door and shutting it behind himself.

_Tomorrow.  I’ll tell him tomorrow._

* * *

 It was a calm, quiet night in Konoha.  The full moon shone brilliantly from above, bathing the village in a soft glow.  A gentle breeze rustled through the trees just below the apartment’s balcony, detaching several leaves and sweeping them upwards, one or two landing atop Sasuke’s slumbering form.

Sasuke woke with a start, blinking bleariness from his eyes and getting his bearings.  _Must’ve fallen asleep out here . . ._ He groaned and got slowly to his feet, stretching and moving to lean against the railing, looking out across the city.  As he stood there, breathing in the cool night air, something felt . . . off.

“Show yourselves,” he said casually.  It was only then that he had realized what had woken him.  “All four of you.”

“Kid’s sharp,” a mocking voice sneered.

“There is a reason that Orochimaru-sama chose him,” another put in, a female this time.  Sasuke’s eyes narrowed, his Sharingan already active.  An instant later four identically clothed people blurred into his peripheral vision, two on each side of him and perched on the railing.  Sasuke didn’t even tense.  He merely stood there, nonchalant and continuing to peer out over the rooftops.

“You haven’t tried to attack me yet, so you’re either here to talk, or you’re just smarter than you look.” His tone was one of equal parts placidity and ice.  The man closest on his right crouched down, his expression one of distaste as he peered at Sasuke.  He had medium length, straight white hair that covered one eye, and there appeared to be a second . . . head growing out of the back of his neck.

“I don’t see what’s so special about this trash.” His had been the sneering voice, it seemed.  “Outside of his Uchiha heritage, I bet he’s just like the rest of these shinobi.  Pathetic and weak, just passing the days behind this ‘secure’ wall of theirs.”

“Who are you, and what do you want?  I’m not a very patient person, so explain now or you’ll learn the hard way why not to cross an Uchiha.”

“The Sound Four,” answered another man, standing next to the snide one.  His skin was dark, and he had two extra sets of arms, one positioned in front of and the other behind his original pair.  “I’m Kidōmaru of the East Gate.”

“Sakon, of the West Gate,” the white-haired man said dismissively.

“I am Jirōbō of the South Gate.” The third man stood at the far left, next to the only woman of the group.  He had plain features and small, intense eyes that seemed perpetually overshadowed by his furrowed brow.  His stature and build looked much like what Chōji could grow into after a few years: heavyset, with a hardly noticeable amount of girth.

“I’m Tayuya of the North Gate.  As far as why we’re here . . .” The final member of the Sound Four was a severe looking young woman, though aside from her permanent scowl she appeared to be the least unusual.  Her long, light pink hair was left wild under a black cap, the rim of which was wrapped in simple bandages.  Sasuke didn’t have much time to take in her statement, and certainly not enough to wait for her to finish.  They all vanished, and an instant later he was forced to vault the railing as shuriken rained down upon the balcony.

“If that’s how we’re doing it,” Sasuke muttered, flipping into a crouch on the nearest rooftop.  Kidōmoru was already sprinting towards him, and Sakon was closing in from the other side.  He waited, taking deep, measured breaths as they closed in from both sides.  Just as they were about to converge he felt another presence above; Jirōbō was falling towards him, both fists raised and ready to crash down upon him.  _Three against one . . . The odds are in my favor._

Sasuke leapt and twisted at the last second, allowing Kidōmaru’s punch to barely graze his cheek and Sakon’s to fly right by his back.  Mid spin he lashed out, striking one with his heel and the other with and extended fist.  They each grunted and staggered back, which would have gotten them clear of Jirōbō’s assault had he been given the chance to finish it.  Sasuke’s jump had caught the large man by surprise, and before he could correct his course the Uchiha had used his momentum to plant a foot square on Jirōbō’s solar plexus.  There was a satisfying crack before the man tumbled to one side, crashing to the roof a few seconds before Sasuke landed.  Without skipping a beat he let loose a fist of shuriken into the nearby canopy of trees, rewarded by a gasp from Tayuya.

“You should have picked an easier fight.  Did you really expect–” He wasn’t able to finish his jibe before he was forced to turn, withdrawing a kunai in the same movement to deflect a volley of shuriken.  The Sound Four stood tall and perfectly unharmed on the roof next to his, looking far too smug for his liking.  A glance to each side showed that each of the attackers he had struck were now no more than substituted logs.  “You’re going to have to do more than make a few substitutions to beat me.”

“Oh, we know,” Sakon smiled, an expression that looked far too sinister on his features.  “Orochimaru-sama has been watching you for some time now.  There’s a small chance that you could take us on if we weren’t serious, but rest assured that we _are_ serious.”  Black blotches started flowing across his skin, originating from somewhere near his right shoulder.  As if on cue, each of the others underwent similar transformations, though theirs all began on the other side.  Kidōmaru’s markings were all smooth lines, curving and curling across his face and arm.  The jagged lines that crept across Tayuya’s flesh looked like bolts of lightning, while Jibōrō’s was made up of a continuous series of triangle shapes.  They all had one thing in common, however, and the realization sent a shiver down Sasuke’s spine: every one was reminiscent of his own curse mark.

“Let’s see how you fare against us now.  I’m sure you know how much stronger we are with the seals activated.”  Tayuya smirked at him, drawing a flute from beneath her clothes.  As she raised the instrument to her lips, Sasuke tensed, preparing himself for the next attack.  But before the flute was in place, the woman froze.  Literally.

Without warning ice exploded under their feet, flowing like a hungry, living thing up their bodies until it reached their necks.  None of them moved, or even appeared remotely surprised.  Tayuya’s flute clattered to the rooftop, bouncing down the slope and disappearing off the edge.  Four panels of ice coalesced behind them, and a moment later four copies of Haku had half-emerged from each, all holding a kunai to the necks of the Sound Four.

“Sasuke-kun, are you hurt?” Haku asked, flowing out from a new sheet of ice next to his friend.  Though there was concern evident in his tone, his expression was as unreadable as a blank page.

“I’m fine.  Thanks Haku.” Sasuke nodded, his own features hard on his attackers.

“You always seem to have friends about,” Sakon said, managing to make the words belittling even in his situation.  “We’re going to have to fix that, I think.”

“I’ll take care of them,” Haku said evenly, but Sasuke held up a hand to stop him.

“They’re already gone,” the Uchiha sighed, straightening from his ready stance.  The older boy blinked at him, then back at the captured shinobi.  “They’re clones of some kind, but since they’re still here I assume there’s something else to say.”

“Like I said, sharp kid,” Sakon laughed mirthlessly.

“We know that you are after the power to kill Itachi,” Tayuya stated simply, meeting his gaze unflinchingly.   “Orochimaru-sama can grant you that power if you seek him for it.”

“Not a chance,” Sasuke said without hesitating, his tone completely flat.  “You can tell him to go fuck himself.”

“He anticipated that you might respond in this way,” she continued.  “But you are the one he wants, and our master will not be denied.  Your friends have made you weak, Uchiha Sasuke, and they are what keep you here.  At this rate you will never attain the strength necessary to defeat your brother.”  Four kunai ripped through the air before she was finished speaking, striking each of them directly between the eyes.  Sasuke dropped his arm back to his side, trying not to snarl.

“Get.  Out.”

“You have twenty-four hours to decide.  We will wait for you on the hilltop north of the village.” Tayuya went on as if there was not a knife sticking out of her face, and after a few seconds her skin appeared to be melting, and the other three followed suit.  “Come alone, and with the conviction to follow Lord Orochimaru, or else the lives of those important to you will be forfeit.”  Her final words came out a touch garbled, likely due to her mouth flowing away.  In moments Haku’s ice was holding nothing but dark piles of sludge.

“They’re pretty strong,” Sasuke muttered, turning away from the scene.  “Individually not as strong as Gaara when he transformed, but together . . .” He shook his head, running a hand through his hair.  “They all have cursed seals like mine, too, and threatening to hurt my friends . . .” He grit his teeth and clenched his fists, his crimson eyes flashing in the moonlight.

“We should tell Kakashi-sensei,” Haku suggested, waving a hand and allowing the ice and his clones to dissipate.  “He’ll know what to do.”

“Yeah . . . In the morning, though.”

“But Sasuk–”

“They said that I have twenty-four hours, right?  We may as well get a good night’s sleep and tell him tomorrow, along with Naruto and Hinata.” Sasuke smirked, glancing back at Haku.  “C’mon.  Let’s go set up a barrier and call it a night.  I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about for now.”  Haku hesitated, but after a moment nodded and smiled faintly.

“Alright.  I’m sure you didn’t get much sleep out on the balcony.”

“How’d you know I fell asleep out there?” Sasuke asked slyly.  The older boy flushed before responding a little too quickly.

“You were asleep almost as soon as I shut the door, and I never heard you come in, and . . .” He trailed off when he noticed that Sasuke was chuckling.  Haku huffed and looked away, pouting while his friend’s laughter only escalated as they made their way back to the apartment.

Setting up a barrier didn’t take long, but getting to sleep did.  Sasuke could hear Haku’s breathing deepen from across the room, and for a long while after he laid awake, staring at the ceiling and going over what the Sound Four had said.  How close of a watch did Orochimaru have on the village – on him and his friends?  How did they know about his drive to kill Itachi?  What did Orochimaru want with him?  Power didn’t come without a price, and knowing _that_ Sannin . . . the price would be steep.  But what bothered Sasuke most of all was that, for a moment, he had considered their proposal seriously.  He would never betray his friends, not after all they had been through together.  But Orochimaru knew that there was a part of him that would always seek power.  The snake knew what tricks to use: his brother and his friends, and they had both been employed in one fell swoop.

Sleep finally took Sasuke after hours of restless thoughts, and his dreams that night were made into nightmares of ‘what if’s.  What if he chose to deny Orochimaru what he wanted?  What if he didn’t go?  But worse yet . . . What if he did go?  Scenarios played themselves out in his mind as he drifted off, each one worse than the last.  The first time Naruto, Hinata, and Haku were killed in front of him was bad enough, but morning was still a very long time coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks. I’m starting to get back into the swing of things after taking ~3 weeks off from CFKD. I know this chapter isn’t too exciting compared to the last, but those pesky in-between chapters have to happen too.
> 
> No lengthy notes for this one. I’m guessing that you can put together changes in behavior/interactions (eg. the Sound Four) based on the events of the story. Oh, and just as a heads-up: this arc will not be similar to canon. I just have to get through it for MEGA PLOT DEVELOPMENTS in T-minus ~three chapters.
> 
> Thank you Rhi for editing as always, and thanks to all of you for reading! The follows, favorites, and reviews mean a lot to me, even those of the lattermost variety that disagree with things I do. I appreciate all’a’y’all.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> \- Wes


	24. Gone

“Aren’t you two supposed to be . . . resting?” Sasuke asked, his arms folded as he watched Naruto and Hinata.  Haku was at his side, grinning in amusement at the scene before them.

Sweat was dripping from Naruto’s brow as he continued his pushups, his coat long since discarded near one of the landmark posts of the Third Training Ground.  Hinata was sitting on his back, her legs folded in the lotus position – rather, there were two Hinatas meditating atop the blond.  One was perched on his shoulders, facing forward with her back to another seated on his lower back.  Their eyes were closed, features fixed in concentration as they strained to hold the straps of the bar weights dangling from their wrists, which were extended out to either side.

“It’s just.  Physical training,” Naruto grunted between breaths.  “Not.  Using chakra.”

“How heavy are those weights . . .?” Haku ventured hesitantly.  He was visibly worried watching Hinata struggle to keep all four of them up.

“Thirty-eight kilograms,” Hinata responded, her voice tight.

“Hey, since when did you pass two hundred kilos?” Sasuke raised an eyebrow, halfway between impressed and offended that he hadn’t been told.

“Since today.  Shut up.” Naruto grit his teeth, his arms shaking now as he began counting aloud for the sake of his own concentration.  “Four ninety-seven . . . Four ninety-eight . . . Four ninety-nine . . .” He finished the set with a growl, collapsing to the ground immediately after uttering the final count.  “Five hundred!”  On cue, the Hinata on his shoulders disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and all four sets of heavy bars hit the ground at the same time with a collective thud.  She fell back with a sigh, their shoulders meeting as her back hit his.

“Ow,” she groaned, her arms falling limply to either side.

"I think I'll just stick with Lee's method," Sasuke said wryly, rapping a knuckle on his chest.  A dull clink told them that he was wearing a weighted combat vest beneath his normal black shirt.  "Anyway, now that you're done, we have a problem."  Naruto and Hinata turned their heads towards him, both seeming curious at the sudden note of severity in their friend's tone.  Sasuke rolled his eyes; they looked entirely too cute, lying back to back like that.  "Orochimaru's henchmen paid me a visit last night."

It didn't take long to relay the encounter.  By the time he was finished the other two were sitting up, and Naruto was shaking his head while Hinata furrowed her brow in concern.  Haku remained close by, absently staring off into the woods.

"Haku and I are heading to tell Kakashi-sensei after this.  We think it's best that he knows, and we can figure out what to do together," Sasuke concluded.

"Good call," Naruto said with a nod, rising and offering a hand to Hinata.  "I’ll go with you; Hinata has to go to some banquet thing with her family.  We were about done here anyway; I don't think she wants another turn on bottom." Rather than agree as he expected, she instead turned an all new shade of red.  Haku and Sasuke's choked laughter didn't help, either.  Naruto raised an eyebrow, glancing between his friends.  "What?"

"Nothing," Sasuke coughed.  "Just ah . . . Yeah, I'm sure that'd be really difficult to deal with."  Haku had to turn away to hide his giddy amusement.  "Anyway, let's get going."

"What?  Did I say something weird again?"

"Nope, nothing out of the ordinary," Haku assured.  The blond frowned and turned to Hinata for help, but she was too busy studying the grass to notice.  "I think . . ."  He trailed off, dark eyes narrowing all of a sudden before his eyelids began to droop.  "I think . . ."

"Something's . . ." Sasuke muttered, putting a hand to his head and wincing.  "What is that sound?"  He looked up to see that Hinata was done being embarrassed, and now looked drowsy and confused.  Naruto was on the ground, unconscious.

"What . . .?" Hinata mumbled.  After a few seconds she collapsed beside her boyfriend with a soft whimper, and a moment later Haku fell as well.  Sasuke stumbled once, desperately looking around for the source of the eerie music.  It sounded like . . . a flute.  The last thing he remembered was falling as his vision faded, seeing a figure walking slowly towards them out of the woods.  Tayuya wore a devilish smirk even as she continued playing her instrument, her three companions appearing beside her with similar expressions.

"Change of plans, kids."

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

**_"You really are pathetic, you know that?"_ **

"Shut up.  What happened?" Naruto stood up, ripples flowing out from his ankles as he stood in the pool of his subconscious.  The Kyūbi's prison loomed ahead of him, and the beast's red eyes looked a touch more disdainful than usual.

**_"All four of you fell under a sound-based genjutsu and are now unconscious.  I will grant you that it's a strong technique, but I expected a bit more resistance than this."_ **

"Was it the Sound Four, the ones Sasuke was talking about?  Are the others okay?"

**_"Probably, on both counts.  I can feel four additional signatures nearby, and we're moving fast.  Your friends' chakras are being suppressed somehow, but they're alive for the time being."_** Naruto nodded tightly, closing his eyes and trying get his racing thoughts in order.

"How can I break out of this?" He clenched his fists, growing more anxious by the second.  It was enough that the henchmen had lied about their plans and ambushed them.  Now they had kidnapped his friends, and were probably taking them straight to Orochimaru.

**_"I could do it for you if we could switch places, but your body couldn't handle it with the seal still intact.  Unless you lost control on your own, of course."_ **

"I'm not removing the seal," Naruto said crossly, sloshing towards the cage.  "And I wouldn't want to lose control even if I knew how to from in here.  Come on, Kurama.  You're super old and have been sealed inside of three people now.  You've gotta know something that could help."

**_"How long do you plan to use me as your crutch, boy?"_ **

"Not a crutch, a partner.  Why is that so hard for you to get?"

**_"Partnerships require an equal amount of give and take.  What have you offered me in return for the power I have given and taught you to use?"_ **

“Is this really the time to–”

**_“Yes, it is.  Even if time didn’t move at a different rate here, it would still be now.  You haven’t been living up to your end of the bargain.  In exchange for mentoring you, the seal was to be loosened and I could be allowed more freedom.  That was the deal, and thus far you have asked Jiraiya once and once only.”_ **

“What would loosening the seal even do for you?  If you’re still sealed inside of me, I’m still going to be in control, and all that’ll accomplish is that you’ll be able to give me more of your chakra, right?  How is that more freedom?”  Without warning, Kurama’s claw shot out from between the bars and enveloped Naruto in the blink of an eye.  The hold was crushing, but not so much that the blond was in any serious pain.

**_“How does this feel?”_** the Kyūbi growled, squeezing a little tighter.  Naruto could only manage a strangled gasp for the air being forced out of his lungs.  **_“Exactly.  Now, how about this?”_**   Kurama loosened his grip and turned his palm up, curling his clawed digits inward so that now Naruto was trapped in a pseudo-cage.

“A lot better,” he coughed, clambering to his feet and glaring at the bijū through the bars.  “What the hell was that . . . for . . .” Naruto trailed off, blinking owlishly.  And then he understood.  “Oh.”

**_“I possess only half of the chakra I once did, but do you really think that your tiny mortal body is a comfortable receptacle?  When you use my chakra, it relieves the smallest fraction of the constantly building pressure.  The shroud allows a better, more consistent release, but my chakra is infinite when compared to your own.  Unless the seal is loosened or undone – allowing my chakra to always leak from you – then it is as if I am trapped in a container too small to hold me.”_ **

Naruto was quiet for a while, even after the Kyūbi deposited him unceremoniously back into the water.  He had never considered _that_ angle before.  He knew now that the seal allowed Kurama’s chakra to slowly flow out and mix with his own, but even then it was limited by how much he could handle or hold at any given time.  If the seal was loosened, would it be like always having the chakra cloak on?

**_“No,”_** Kurama answered before he could voice the thought.  Sharing a consciousness was a touch inconvenient for secrets.  **_“There may be visible residue, but unless you choose to harness it then it should remain inert.  But there are more advantages for you as well, potentially new abilities and forms outside of the ones you’ve already used.”_**

“Like what?” Naruto asked hesitantly, not sure how much he wanted to probe now.  The Kyūbi grunted and crossed his forepaws, settling his head down atop them.

**_“Hell if I know, kid.  You’re the only one stupid enough to have any interest in me.  Beyond just using me as a weapon, that is.”_** It was difficult to tell, but Naruto was pretty sure he saw Kurama smirk slightly.

“Alright, alright . . . I’ll ask Jiraiya again.” Kurama raised an accusing eyebrow, to which Naruto rolled his eyes and threw up his hands.  “Okay, I’ll keep asking until he does _something._   But I mean, I don’t know much about fūinjutsu.  If he can’t help, there’s not much I can do.”

**_“Start learning on your own,”_** he suggested, yawning.  **_“Prove to me that I haven’t misplaced my trust, mortal.”_**

“I told you to stop calling me that,” Naruto huffed.  Kurama only snorted. “Anyway, now that we’ve settled that, what can we do to get conscious again?”

**_“The same thing you did last time you were under a genjutsu.  You’re a bit unique in that you have this mindscape to retreat to when you’re physically unconscious, so you’re still in control of your chakra to some degree.  Stop it at the gate, and let it build as much as you can before releasing it.  You’re under pretty deep, so it’ll take a hard shock to get you up again.”_ **

“Right, got it.  Gotta picture the gate again.”  Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated, tensing as he prepared to halt his chakra flow.  “Thanks.”

**_“Oh, and be careful; these four are dangerous, and your chakra hasn’t recovered adequately.”_ **

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you sounded worried.” Naruto smirked, opening one eye to peer accusingly at the Fox.  Kurama rolled his eyes before closing them, settling down again without another word.  “Really though . . . Thanks.  And sorry for not realizing how crappy it is for you in here.  I’ll do my best to get it fixed after we’re out of this mess.”

**_“On your honor, Naruto.  Now go kick their asses.”_ **

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“This is boring,” Sakon whined, kicking off from a tree branch.  He glanced to one side, scowling.  “And you could at least help carry them, Tayuya.”  The female Oto-nin didn’t respond, though her eyes did narrow and travel to her companion.  Her lips were still pressed to her flute, continuing her melody.

“She is keeping them asleep,” Jirōbō chided.  The large boy was carrying Haku and Hinata on his own, one under each arm.  Sakon scowled at him now, having to look past Naruto to do so.  The blond was his charge, slung over one shoulder.

“I thought all we needed was this one,” Kidōmaru muttered, one of his extra arms prodding Sasuke.  The Uchiha was held aloft by two of the boy’s six hands, gripping the back of his shirt and letting him dangle to one side.  “Why are we bringing the other trash along?”

“One is the Kyūbi’s jinchūriki, one is a member of the Hyūga clan, and the other has an extremely rare kekkei genkai.  Orochimaru-sama is sure to want to dissect and use them in some way.”  Jirōbō’s voice of reason was difficult to argue with, though as the leader of the group Sakon had an obligation to try.

“It’ll be annoying if they wake up.”

“Tayuya’s genjutsu is too strong for that to happen.  Even you can’t break it, Sakon.”

As if on cue, a blast of chakra hit Sakon in the small of his back, right where Naruto’s head had been hanging.  The blow threw him off course, and with a cry of surprise he went spinning to crash into a broad tree trunk.  Naruto flipped backwards just before impact, using his captor’s back as a springboard to fly at the others.  He was wincing and holding his head with one hand even as he streaked towards Tayuya, whose eyes were wide and disbelieving.

“Rasengan!” Naruto growled, smashing the ball of energy into the woman’s chest.  There had been no time to correct her trajectory, however much she might have been able to mid-flight.  Tayuya screamed, the sound becoming lost in the violent blast of chakra that sent her careening to the forest floor.

“Shit, get him now or–” Kidōmaru started, interrupted when Sasuke thrust a vicious elbow into his ribs.  He gasped in pain and doubled over, allowing the Uchiha the perfect opportunity to wrench free of his grip and twist into a spinning side kick that bruised a few ribs.  Kidōmaru disappeared into the woods, the sound of breaking branches following in his wake.

Jirōbō was quicker on the uptake than the others.  He threw Haku and Hinata towards the forest floor as soon as he saw Naruto break Tayuya’s technique, though it wasn’t enough to avoid their retaliation.  A flurry of senbon tore through the foliage below, half of which were wrought from ice while the rest were of pure chakra.  Guarding against the onslaught did little, and a few seconds later he tumbled to the ground as a bloodied pincushion.

Naruto landed on forest floor, a cloud of his own blue chakra shimmering about him.  Mere moments later, Sasuke landed lightly on one side, his expression one of silent fury.  Hinata alighted on Naruto’s other side, settled in a low stance to absorb the fall.  The ground beside her crackled and froze over into a smooth sheet of ice before beginning to warp and rise.  Haku stood from the spot a beat later, a senbon held in each hand.  He looked almost as virulent as Sasuke.

“You three okay?” Naruto asked tersely, eyes flicking around them.

“We’re all fine, it looks like.  You broke the technique?” Sasuke glanced at him only for a moment, clearly surprised that the most inept of their group had freed himself of the genjutsu.

“Remember Kurama’s prison thing in my head?  He said that there’s always a part of my consciousness in there, so it’s where I woke up.  I think he had something to do with it, though.”

“Well, whatever it was, we owe you.”

“They’ll recover fast if they’re anything like what you described, Sasuke,” Hinata cautioned, already scanning the trees with her Byakugan.  “Two of them are already outside of my range.  The big one is about three hundred meters south of us, and the one with white hair is nearly four hundred west.  I can’t see further than that, but . . . Those directions correspond with the titles they gave you last night.  The other two could be north and east; they might be waiting for us.  We’re on a plateau right now, I think; the woods give way to cliffs on the east and west.”

“We should split up and each take one, even if that is what they want.  We don’t know what they’re capable of as a group.  The girl – Tayuya – and the guy with white hair seem like the leaders.  She doesn’t seem to have anything but the flute.  It’s sound-based genjutsu, isn’t it?” Sasuke asked hurriedly, already unraveling the rubber bindings from his wrists and taking a kunai to them.  It only took a few seconds to fashion a pair of makeshift earplugs from the straps.

“Yeah, that’s what Kurama said,” Naruto remarked.  “I think you should take her on; you’re the best with Genjutsu.”

“The big one is likely a taijutsu specialist, based on his build and attacks last night.”  Haku shook his head, spinning one of his senbon irritably.  “The other two are a mystery.”

“I’ll take the taijutsu guy, then.  Jirōbō, right?” Naruto asked, taking a step forward.  “Which do you two want?”

“I’ll engage Sakon.  Haku, can you find Kidōmaru on your own?” The boy in question nodded confidently.  Hinata was still focused intently on scanning every direction, trying to detect their enemies. “Naruto, Jirōbō already released his seal.  Be careful.”

“I’m always careful,” he teased, winking back at her.  Hinata creased her brow and gave him her best chastising expression before turning to seek out Sakon.  Naruto hesitated for a second before reversing directions, stepping back to his girlfriend and taking her hand as it swung back.  He pulled gently, and she needed no further coaxing to spin into a tight hug.  “Be safe, okay?”

“I will,” she mumbled, placing a quick kiss on his neck and willing herself not to blush.  Now wasn’t the time for embarrassment.

Sasuke and Haku didn’t avert their eyes, and neither looked uncomfortable.  They had been through too many dire situations, and ruining a moment of affection before a life-and-death battle was unthinkable.  Haku did glance at Sasuke, though.  “You be careful too, Sasuke-kun.”  He was proud of himself for being able to say it without turning red.

“You too, Haku.  I can’t lose my favorite roommate.” Sasuke smirked at the other boy, nodding once before disappearing in a blur of motion.  Haku smiled faintly, returning the nod and vanishing without another word.

“See you soon,” Naruto said softly, leaning in for a kiss.  Hinata returned the kiss like it was the last she’d ever share with him, the same way she did every time.

_Because every time could be the last._   She broke the contact reluctantly, but there wasn’t time to indulge.  “I . . .” Hinata began as she stepped back, making eye contact before he turned away.  “I love you,” she got out in a rush, finally allowing herself to flush.  Naruto blinked a few times, slowly matching her reddened complexion.

“I love you too, Hinata,” he said after a cough.  She smiled, giving his hand a squeeze before dashing into the forest.  Naruto stood there for a long moment, staring after where she had gone.  There was a knot in his stomach that he couldn’t quite explain, and it didn’t feel entirely good like it usually might have.  Something felt  . . . off, and he was worried.  _We’ll be fine,_ he shrugged, shaking himself and starting into the woods.  _Let’s do this._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

_Looks like Hinata was right._ Sasuke sped through the trees, his keen eyes picking out Tayuya’s form between the branches.  She was still, apparently calm as she stood upon a high bough with her eyes closed.  _She’s just waiting for me.  Great._ Idly he wondered if they had planned this as a contingency in the event that he and his friends escaped the genjutsu.  It was likely, but it didn’t matter now.

Tayuya’s eyes snapped open as Sasuke hurtled towards her, fire-wreathed kunai preceding him.  She lifted the flute to her lips even as she dodged to one side, playing a series of notes that should have rendered the Uchiha immobilized and under extreme psychological duress.  Instead he landed, pivoted smoothly, and swept a lightning-fast kick hooking towards the side of her head.  She barely managed to duck and leap away, eyes narrowed as she lowered her instrument.

“Earplugs, huh?” she sighed, eyeing the black bits of rubber stuck in his ears.  Sasuke smirked, settling into a ready stance.  He didn’t respond, even though she knew that his Sharingan would have allowed him to read her lips.  “Orochimaru-sama wants you alive, but he didn’t specify in what condition.  I’m sure he wouldn’t mind crushed and barely breathing; you’ll recover eventually.”  Before Sasuke could engage, the kunoichi knelt and slammed her palm to the branch below, her lips curling into a wild grin.  “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!”

Sasuke kept a healthy distance from the explosion of smoke, waiting for it to clear before making another move.  Tayuya wasn’t about to give him a chance to form a strategy.  Three monstrous shapes flew from the shroud, displacing the fog as they leapt for their quarry.  It took Sasuke a second to react, largely due to how disturbing the sight was.  Each of the massive beings wore a purple rope about its waist, tied in an inverted knot identical to the ones the Sound Four wore.  One had no arms, and bandages covered it completely from its belt up, save for a section between its sharp chin and disfigured nose.  It was coming at Sasuke _backwards_ , its head bent so far behind it that it could have looked directly at him had its eyes not been covered.  The creature next to it had its eyes and ears covered by bandages, and like the other its mouth was sewn shut.  Scars covered its bald head, and its muscled bulk was left bare from the waist up.  Bandages fastened lengths of what looked like bone to its forearms, creating vicious looking spikes protruding past its fingertips and back beyond its elbow.  The last monster was the most normal looking, clad in a dark green full body suit and wielding a studded metal club that was nearly as long as it was tall.  The weapon was easily three or four times Sasuke’s own height.  Long hair the approximate color of sewage obscured its face, completing the trio of blind ogres.

Tayuya had released her cursed seal, and she now stood behind her summons while her fingers twitched rapidly upon the flute.  Her smug, delighted smile never left her as she played, urging her demons on.

_Well.  Shit._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Haku ignored the cataclysmic crash from the northwest, knowing that it came from the direction Sasuke was in.  _Nobody can beat Sasuke-kun,_ he assured himself.  Logically he knew that there were plenty of people that could kill him and his friends – Kakashi, for example.  Their jōnin instructor could likely handle all four of them at once, although they hadn’t tried that in a while.  Either way, Sasuke would be alright.  He believed that so strongly that it became a simple fact, something he knew in his heart.

A flicker of motion brought him to an abrupt halt, and an instant later a sizeable web smacked into a tree a few steps to his left, making a squelching sound upon impact.  Haku had no time to examine it, instead set to dodging as more came flying through the trees.  On their own the nets were not difficult to avoid, but the sheer number pouring through the trees gave little room for error.  One wrong move and . . .

He hit a tree with a small gasp, wincing as the web he had failed to dodge tightened around him.  It was far too strong to be made of normal spider silk.  It had some give to it, but it seemed to contract even further after an attempt was made to test its strength.

“You won’t be getting out of that,” Kidōmaru drawled, lowering himself from the canopy by thick white threads.  The Oto-nin hung upside-down a few meters from Haku, suspended by six strands of web from his multiple arms.  “I was hoping to get one of the more entertaining ones.  Looks like I ended up getting trash.”  He sighed and shrugged as if it couldn’t be helped.  His cheeks puffed out for a moment, and the sickly sound of swishing saliva turned into him appearing to vomit more silk.  The material was a different color than the rest, gleaming dull bronze rather than pale opalescence.  It hardened in seconds instead of becoming adhesive, exiting his mouth completely only when he bit down and broke it off.  The result was a rough replica of a kama, now being brandished at Haku.  “Your friends will join you in the afterlife soon enough.  Except Sasuke-kun, of course; Orochimaru-sama has plans for that one.”  He raised the weapon, bringing it slicing down towards Haku’s heart.  A few centimeters from landing the fatal blow, Kidōmaru stopped, the sickle quavering in the air as his eyes went wide.  Two spikes of ice had erupted from Haku’s shoulders, one piercing his enemy’s swinging bicep while the other went straight through his lower torso.

“You talk too much,” Haku said calmly.  The web trap crackled and shattered around him, falling to the ground in shards of ice.  One of the boy’s hands was held in seal, and when he released it the protrusions impaling Kidōmaru crumbled as well.  Haku spun even before they hit the ground, planting a hard kick in his adversary’s chest.  The blow snapped the strands suspending him, sending the Oto-nin careening back with a pained grunt.  A panel of ice was already materializing behind him as he flew.  Kidōmaru struck the mirror as Haku emerged from it, two senbon braced and aiming for his vital points.  But instead of piercing his flesh, the needles snapped in two, sending metal bits spinning away.  Haku had only a fraction of a second to react.  He was forced to recede into the mirror as the other boy crashed into it, and a moment later reappeared at his starting point.  “What . . .?”

“That was close,” Kidōmaru wheezed, heaving himself from the ground.  “You’re quick, kid.”  His seal had been released in midair, its dark swirls now covering most of his body.  A sheet of hardened web crumbled to the ground behind him a few seconds later, having done its job of guarding against the impact.

“You look younger than me,” Haku pointed out in a reasonable tone, readying a new pair of senbon.  _His reactions are fast, and he can secrete that stuff anywhere on his body it looks like.  I’d be willing to bet he has a limited supply, or at least that it costs a good amount of chakra to make.  Time to beat him at his own game._   Haku vanished without warning, blurring into the trees and raining senbon down upon his opponent from every direction.  Kidōmaru was forced to retreat back into the canopy as well, and he moved with astonishing alacrity despite his injuries.  It wasn’t long before he began firing back, however.

“Don’t get cocky, you little shit.” In moments there were projectiles tearing through the foliage, seeming to come from everywhere at once.  The skirmish was one of blinding speed, each trying to catch his opponent off guard and circling one another in an unseen frenzy.  Whoever slowed first would be the loser here, and Haku found himself silently thanking Kakashi and Sasuke for the training during the Chūnin Exams.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Sakon wouldn’t have been difficult to find even if Hinata hadn’t been using her Byakugan.  He was seated at the base of a tree west of her starting point, leaning leisurely back against its trunk just waiting for her to arrive.  He yawned as she approached, though he held himself in a way that suggested preparedness despite his nonchalance.

“Looks like I got one of the fun ones.  That blond kid is your boyfriend, isn’t he?” Hinata said nothing, instead drawing her knives and continuing towards him.  “At first it was only Sasuke that Orochimaru-sama was interested in.  But after that display during your exams . . . Well, let’s just say that a jinchūriki could provide as much intrigue as one of the last surviving Uchiha.  For that matter, so could a Hyūga.”

“You won’t be taking any of us,” she responded coolly.  There wasn’t a warning before her attack.  One moment she was advancing, and the next she had covered several meters in the time it took Sakon to blink.  Even so, he didn’t move.  Hinata swept forward with her left hand, seeking to slash across her enemy’s neck and end the fight before it began.  It was obvious that Sakon was taken by surprise by her speed, and had he intended to move he may not have been able to block.  But rather than do it himself, a second hand emerged from his right shoulder and caught Hinata’s wrist a few centimeters away.  To her credit, she got over her shock almost instantly and used her momentum and the new fulcrum to twist, thrusting her right knee towards his chest.  Another hand shot out from the intended point of impact, deftly catching the strike.

“You’re fast,” Sakon mused, the extra head hanging behind his shoulder twitching a little.  “But you’ll need to be a lot faster to–”  He was forced to snap his head to one side, and even with the quick reaction a trail of blood welled up across his cheek as Hinata’s knife dug into the tree where his head had been a fraction of a second before.  He opened his mouth to snarl something, but was forced to fling her away when her free hand began a barrage of near unavoidable strikes.  She used the throw to create some distance from her opponent, mind racing as she sent a fist of shuriken back at him.  “And annoying.” He tore the trench knife from the tree and used it to deflect the projectiles, tossing it aside afterwards with a look of distaste.

_Two extra arms, one left and one right, and an extra head._ Hinata didn’t know exactly how the boy’s abilities worked, but from that bit of information she could make a few good guesses.  It was time to see if an extra limb or two would let him keep up with her.  She replaced the dagger behind her belt, lowering into a hybrid jūken stance as Sakon’s curse mark writhed and started creeping over his skin.  He stood slowly, stretching and cracking his neck.

“I can tell you’re not one for small talk, so you can at least make this entertaining for me.”

“We don’t have time to play around, Sakon,” a deeper, guttural voice grated.  The second head moved on its own, the base of its neck moving smoothly across Sakon’s shoulders to turn and settle to the right of his head.  Their features were identical, although the second’s were set in a more surly expression.  “Let’s take care of this quickly.”

“Ukon is always impatient,” Sakon sighed.  He lowered into an unfamiliar taijutsu stance, waiting.  “Come, then.  Let’s see just how fast you are.”  Hinata didn’t waste any time.

“Hakke: Sixty-Four Palms.  Two strikes!” She tore forward, predicting her opponent’s fighting style from their brief encounter, as well as from what had just been revealed to her.  As expected, a pair of hands extended from the boy’s torso to turn away her strikes, and at the same time Sakon’s own hands moved to counterstrike.  She had been ready for it.  Hinata dropped to the ground in the same breath, narrowly avoiding a hard punch in the process.  Her leg swept around like lightning, catching Sakon’s feet and ripping them from under him.  She was upright in a flash, continuing her technique as if unimpeded.  Ukon’s limbs continued to shoot out of Sakon’s body, but his alone were too slow to deflect every blow.  “Four strikes,” she continued, her arms blurring.  “Eight strikes.  Sixteen strikes.”  Sakon’s body was being suspended by the sheer force of her palm strikes, driven back by every successive attack.  She continued relentlessly, landing more and more hits as the technique went on.  “Thirty-two strikes.”  By now Sakon was trying to defend himself along with his brother’s aid, but Hinata had already gained the upper hand; it was like trying to stop an avalanche.  “Sixty-four strikes!”  The final barrage wreaked havoc, and the last one struck him directly in the chest hard enough to send him crashing halfway through the nearest tree.  The trunk cracked, and with a great groan of protest it toppled to the ground.  Sakon was left bent backwards over the mangled stump, twitching every so often as the only proof that he was still alive.

“Ow,” Sakon groaned, rolling to one side and landing heavily on his feet.  Ukon’s head lolled for a second before shaking and straightening itself.

“She is faster than us,” Ukon mused, grinding his teeth.  “Release the second level, then separate.”

“I know you’re eager, brother, but it’s rare to see you this bloodthirsty.” Sakon did as he was told, however.  The cursed markings covering their conjoined bodies glowed red and spread outward, fusing together and taking over every visible area of skin.  Their faces narrowed and elongated, and each head grew a single horn on one temple.  As they transformed, it appeared that one side of Sakon’s body was pulling away from the other, splitting him straight down the middle between both heads.  Sakon and Ukon stood as separate people a few seconds later, although half of each of their bodies seemed to be made of a dark armor rather than flesh.

“Let’s see if you’re faster than both of us,” Ukon purred.  Hinata barely had time to ready herself before the brothers surged forward.  Depending on how well they worked together, things could very quickly go awry.  Perhaps it was the fact that the twins spent most of their time in one body, but Hinata had a sinking feeling that they would synergize with one another perfectly.  Nevertheless, she was determined not to lose.  There was too much at stake; there always was.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“So uh . . . You’re Jirōbō?” Naruto asked quizzically, squinting upwards.  “I know I wasn’t awake, but I don’t remember you being this . . . big . . . five minutes ago.”  A golem made entirely from rock and compacted dirt towered some ten meters tall, its single lifeless eye staring ahead at nothing.  It stood in a crater amid several felled trees, doubtless the result of its appearance.

“I guess they sent the thick one,” Jirōbō grunted, sneering down at Naruto from the construct’s shoulder.  “You’re the Kyūbi kid, huh?  I bet you have plenty of chakra for me to eat.”

“Eat?” The blond wrinkled his nose, clearly put off by the idea of being consumed.  “I don’t think you’d want to eat that chakra.  It’d probably give you an upset stomach.”

**_Very funny.  Twerp._** Naruto grinned cheekily, an expression meant for Kurama but one that Jirōbō took as part of the boy’s response.

“Sakon says that you’re low on chakra.  You won’t even be worth the meal, trash.”  As Hinata had cautioned, the burly older boy already had his seal released.  The triangular arrows snaked further across his face as he slapped a hand to the side of the golem’s head.  A shudder rippled through the rock, from the point of impact all the way to its feet.  A dull glow shone from behind its one eye, signaling that it had gained some sort of sentience.

The construct moved without warning, one of its colossal fists spiking towards Naruto.  What it lacked in speed it made up for in sheer size and mass.  Avoiding a regular punch at that speed would be a breeze for Naruto, but a fist many times the size of his own provided much less room to dodge.  Even so, he didn’t even attempt to move.  He just stood his ground and smirked.

“Pathetic,” Jirōbō spat as the blow hit, decimating the ground that Naruto had been occupying and taking out another tree in the process.  The Oto-nin was about ready to leap down and consume what chakra he could from Naruto’s corpse, but a second later he was forced to grab hold of his summon as to not fall off.  The golem’s blocky feet slid backwards, tearing trenches into the forest floor as they went.  Red-orange chakra flared up and around its extended hand, thick tendrils breaking off and shoving back against the pressure.  Naruto stood solidly, straining against the strike with his gritted teeth forming a fierce grin.

“You guys came into our village,” Naruto growled, palms extended against the stone fist.  “You attacked Sasuke,” he continued, taking a heavy step forward and forcing the golem back another few centimeters.  “You threatened me and my friends . . .” He lowered one hand, keeping the other planted firmly forward against the obstacle.  His ruby eyes flashed as his anger continued to rise.  “You tried to abduct and take us to Orochimaru.”  Naruto brought his arm back, pouring the Kyūbi’s chakra into it as he ground out his last indignant statement.  “I’ve got more than enough chakra to deal with you!”

The earth shook as Naruto’s punch connected, the three tails of his chakra cloak writhing and flying over his shoulders to hit at the same time.  The ground beneath the golem’s feet buckled as its fist was blasted back, carrying its body along for the ride.  It fell slowly, unable to stabilize due to its size.  It hit the ground with a deafening crash that made the whole of the wooded plateau tremble, felling more trees in the process.  But Naruto wasn’t done yet.

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” Two clones appeared on either side of him, already gathering chakra in their palms as the trio sprinted forward as a unit.  Jirōbō had made it clear of his creation’s fall and was now crouched on a nearby tree branch.  When he saw Naruto and his clones coming, however, he leapt off towards them in a controlled dive.

“You think that’s enough to stop me?” he nearly bellowed, skin rippling as the seal spread even further.  His skin turned the color of rust, and his mostly bald head suddenly grew an orange mane.  The punch he was winding up could likely crush a boulder into dust, and it would have a similar effect on Naruto.

“Nope!” the blond called back, now only a few meters from his adversary.  Jirōbō seemed like a heavy hitter, so he didn’t think it was a good idea to risk getting struck.  Naruto and his clones split up, two running to one side of the Oto-nin’s descent while another skirted around in the other direction.  Jirōbō landed with enough force to create a small crater, and he slammed his hands into the ground the instant he made contact.

“Doton: Mausoleum Dumpling!”  Whatever damage had already been done to the area was immediately doubled as the ground churned and rolled back upon itself, stripping away the top layers of earth and stone and every bit of plant life along with it.

_What a dumb name for a technique._ Naruto and his clones leapt into the air to avoid being devoured.  The two copies arched down towards the fallen golem, which had only just begun to rise.  While Naruto landed on a high tree branch just outside of the scope of Jirōbō’s ability, the bunshin slammed a pair of Rasengan directly into the construct’s blank face.  Debris scattered everywhere, a few stray shards piercing through the clones and dispersing them, but the blow had been struck.  The giant bucked for only a second before going still, whatever chakra that had been used to hold it together now forced to let it fall to pieces.  Meanwhile, Naruto had other problems to deal with, namely Jirōbō now hefting the entire mass of earth above his head.  “That’s . . . a really big ball of dirt.”

**_You want to try punching through that, too?_** Kurama said wryly, apparently bored.  **_This guy’s no weakling, but he’s nothing like Shukaku’s jinchūriki.  Finish this up so we can go talk to Jiraiya._**

_Yeah, yeah.  You know, Ino nags Chōji and Shikamaru less than you badger me._

**_There’s a giant rock heading towards you, idiot._** Naruto could have responded if he had the will to, but avoiding said giant rock took more concentration than he was willing to admit.  Jirōbō threw the boulder like a normal person might toss a kunai – with one hand.  Naruto was fast, but there was only one direction he could actually take with any real confidence.  He pushed chakra into his legs and jumped from his perch, flying straight up in an attempt to go over the oncoming ‘projectile.’  He cleared it with a few meters to spare, on his guard for anything else that might be coming.  Naruto landed on the other side of the miniature rolling mountain, which came to a rumbling halt a few dozen meters away.  It seemed that Jirōbō had no shortage of chakra, however.

“Doton Kekkai: Earthen Dome!” A rocky barrier was already forming around Naruto before his feet touched the ground, rapidly closing around him in a similar manner as Hinata’s Stone Prison technique.  However, the difference between the two abilities was immediately apparent.  The Kyūbi’s shroud began to pull away from his body, flickering towards the walls and slowly disappearing.

_I hate this guy._

**_It’s your fault that you were too slow to avoid the jutsu.  Hurry up and break out of here before he draws out what chakra I’m able to give you._ **

_Oh no, it’s okay.  I was planning to just hang out in here,_ Naruto quipped, already running through hand seals.  _Fūton: Great Vacuum Sphere!_ Rather than exhale in several short bursts like in the parent jutsu, he instead took a deep breath and compressed the air as much as possible before releasing it in a single violent explosion.  A large sphere of wind blasted the side of his prison, tearing away rock as if it were paper.  He was already sprinting forward before the technique dissipated, bringing up his guard as he dove through the created opening.  As expected, Jirōbō had been waiting with a punch that struck the moment Naruto exited the barrier.  Although the blow was mitigated by his guard, the blond still winced in pain and was pitched back across the newly created clearing.  He landed with a grunt, rubbing at his rapidly bruising arm.

“We were cautioned not to take any chances with you kids,” Jirōbō rumbled, planting his feet in a wide stance.  “You’re pretty good – for trash, that is.”

_How long do we have on the ass-kicking, you-taking-over-and-turning-all-red thing again?_

**_Few more days, minimum.  You’re resilient, but your body can’t handle that transformation very often.  You don’t need it to beat this guy regardless._ **

_I know I don’t, but he’s annoying and I want him to stop talking sooner rather than later._

**_You’re faster than he is, and if that seal is anything like Sasuke’s then it consumes a lot of chakra very quickly.  That’s likely why he’s been so relentless thus far._** Naruto only sighed, reaching up to form the clone seal.  Two bunshin popped up beside him, and together they charged Jirōbō.  **_I didn’t say a frontal assault was a good ide–_**

_Shut up and watch; I need to concentrate._ Kurama growled but said no more, instead just simmering in the background.

“I stand by what I said about you being thick,” Jirōbō smirked, readying himself.  He engaged Naruto and his clones without holding back, and the Fox had been exactly right about his speed.  While each strike carried with it enough power to shatter bones, it was much easier to duck, weave, and deflect than it might have been against Sasuke or Hinata.  The bunshin’s attacks coincided with and complimented every one of Naruto’s, putting the other boy on the defensive from the beginning.  Every time he went for a hit on any of them, two attackers would land blows while a third turned away or dodged the blow.

Naruto’s taijutsu was good, and every punch and kick carried plenty of force.  He could see the anger building on Jirōbō’s features, the clear frustration at having underestimated his opponent.  The Oto-nin hadn’t been very quick to begin with, but he was slowing even further.  His actions became sloppy after a time, and sweat now coated his brow.  As a result of his increased panic, however, his wild swings carried with them the power of desperation.  One false move and it would be lights out for Naruto.

“Got you!” Jirōbō snarled, his hulking fist already a hair’s breadth from the blond’s jaw.  It connected, but instead of the satisfying sound of bone breaking all he got was a puff of smoke.  His eyes went wide; he had been positive that it had been the real one.  Unless . . . He didn’t get a chance to finish the thought.  Jirōbō’s eyes rolled back in his head, and the seal covering his body slowly receded.  He fell forward with a heavy thud, blood flowing freely from two wounds in his back where the other clones had severed the major arteries at his kidneys.  Those bunshin vanished as well, leaving Jirōbō’s body as the only sign of life in the area.  Naruto was nowhere to be found.

**_Pretty clever, kid,_** Kurama grunted as the clones’ memories came back to them.  **_Using his ego to your advantage, then creating and switching places with a clone in the middle of the fight.  There may be hope for you yet._**

_I could have done it without your help, too,_ Naruto added smugly.  He was racing northwest through the trees, intent on reaching Hinata as fast as possible.

**_Head due north,_** the Kyūbi said suddenly, an urgency in his tone that had not been there a moment before.  **_They’re after Sasuke, remember?_**

_But Hinata is_ _–_

**_Don’t get your feelings mixed up in this, kid.  She can handle herself just as well as you can, and going to her aid simply because you’re concerned for her safety would be an insult to her as a shinobi._**   Naruto blinked, alighting on a branch for a few seconds to bite at his lip.  He hated it when Kurama was right.  **_You’ve already chosen to trust her to deal with her opponent.  Make the right decision._**

_Ugh . . .!_ Naruto wanted to throw something in frustration, but he couldn’t argue with the Fox’s point.  The Sound Four originally came with the intent to take Sasuke, and there was no telling if they had backup or not.  Orochimaru himself could be nearby for all they knew.  It was imperative to make sure Sasuke was alright.  He sped through the seals required for the Wind Whisper jutsu, speaking in his normal tone of voice so that he could be heard clearly.  “One down; I’m on my way to help Sasuke.”

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

_Now seems like a good time for help,_ Sasuke thought tersely.  He could have formed the seals required to respond back directly, but at the moment his attention was better spent keeping on the move.  Tayuya's three ogres had proved able to fell trees without much effort, and sizable craters littered the forest floor where they had missed their mark.  Sasuke knew that taking them head on would be suicide; he wasn't even sure that he could defeat one of them.  But their summoner was a different story.  It hadn't been difficult to work out that she was controlling them with her flute; if he could get it away from her, the fight would be over.  She didn't appear to be carrying any additional weaponry, either.  Ever since Sasuke had attempted to disrupt her playing with projectiles, however, one of the demons had stayed at her side to deflect them.  The other two were now following him vigilantly, spurred on by their master's playing.  Each one's mouth had been ripped open when Tayuya had changed melodies, and now what appeared to be ethereal, worm-like creatures had snaked out of their gaping maws.  Each ghostly entity possessed dozens of mouths, complete with hungry, gnashing teeth.  Sasuke wasn't sure what would happen if he was caught by one of them, and he wasn't keen to find out.  _Time to get creative._

It took a few minutes, but after some tactful maneuvering Sasuke had managed not only to circle Tayuya’s location several times, but also set a few unseen surprises while on the move.  The armless creature and the one with the club were chasing him still, unable to communicate to their master what the Uchiha had done.  They were blind beasts, guided only by sound and seemingly with no minds of their own.  The snaking chakra beings did seem to actively seek Sasuke, however, as if they were drawn to his scent or taste in the air.  Each thick tendril was several meters ahead of its host, guiding towards its intended prey.

Sasuke landed on a branch a good distance ahead of his pursuers, now only a dozen meters from Tayuya.  Without waiting for her to spur the demons on, he threw a single kunai straight towards her exposed chest.  As expected, the third ogre simply lowered an arm and deflected the knife, but not before Sasuke had thrown three more and a fist of shuriken.  The kunai all went wide, and as such they were ignored in favor of blocking the smaller projectiles.  Two of the knives ricocheted off of one another a few meters past Tayuya, one flying at her back while the other sped off into the woods.  The third knife dug into the tree branch near the Oto-nin’s feet and was ignored.  Tayuya didn’t move at first, instead commanding her minion to block the attack from behind.  The moment it did so, however, three more kunai cut through the trees from where the other had disappeared, racing towards the woman’s open side.  There was no way the demon could block those for her.

“Nice try,” she sneered, leaping out of the way and keeping her flute in place.  “Petty traps won’t work on me, kid.”  Two of the knives hit the tree trunk, and the third dug into her protector’s broad back, although if the thing noticed then it didn’t show it.  A final volley of shuriken came from the opposite direction now, and just as Tayuya began to play, she hit . . . nothing.  Her eyes went wide as she suddenly found herself tangled in several nigh invisible wires.  The shuriken arced around her, and before the kunoichi could blink she was bound and suspended between several of the tree branches around her.  Her arms had been snapped to her sides, and when the shuriken finished circling they dug mercilessly into her flesh.  The Doki froze where they landed, unable to act without their master’s guidance.  Only the apparitions twitched from side to side, trying to move further without their physical bodies’ assistance.

“It’s hard to hear you,” Sasuke sighed, emerging from the foliage below her.  “But I think I saw you say ‘petty traps?’” His Sharingan glittered dangerously at her, and his smirk was far from kind.  “They don’t seem too petty now, do they?” He clenched both of his fists tighter, and for a moment the thin wires were visible as they tightened around Tayuya.  Between the seemingly randomly placed kunai – including the one dug into the ogre’s back – was a network of wires that could have caught Tayuya in any number of directions, all threaded through the loops in the knives’ pommels.  Likewise, each throwing star had a wire leading back to one of Sasuke’s fingers, and as he continued to flex his fingers they buried themselves deeper into Tayuya.  The woman hardly even flinched.

“I can see why Orochimaru-sama wants those eyes of yours,” she grunted, testing her bindings.  Sasuke yanked back on the cables, dragging one or two of the shuriken a few centimeters through her skin.  Tayuya’s eyes flicked to one side, ignoring the increased pressure and pain.  She grinned, and Sasuke narrowed his eyes.  One of her hands still firmly grasped her flute, but the other formed into a half ram seal and she murmured, “Dispel.”  Three monstrous clouds of smoke erupted from where the Doki had been, and subsequently their disappearance dislodged Sasuke’s kunai from the nearest one’s back.  The wires in which Tayuya was trapped slackened, and she started plummeting towards the ground.

_Katon: Dragon Fire._ Roaring flames followed the cables still attached to the shuriken, racing towards the bound Oto-nin.  The fire hit just before her body struck the ground, creating a miniature meteorite when Sasuke leapt back and pulled hard on the wires to maximize the concussion.  Unfortunately for Tayuya, the only surface available to her to fall on was a solid layer of rock, and even that fractured on impact.  The aftermath of the maneuver left a smoking, blackened shape behind of approximately Tayuya’s proportions.  Approximately.

“That . . . hurt . . . you fuck.” Sasuke hadn’t expected the technique to kill her outright, but he didn’t expect her to just . . . get up.  It was slow and a bit jerky, but sure enough the woman stood on her own power, snapping the cables binding her like they were made of straw.  Her now yellow eyes were filled with seething hatred, and her skin had taken on a greyish tone.  Horns grew from her head at odd angles, having already ripped off her bandages and allowed her long, wild hair to fall freely.  “Trash like you won’t be able to defeat me with this . . .” Tayuya blinked.  She had suddenly reverted back to her original state, and now simply stood staring at Sasuke in disbelief.  “W-what?!  I have plenty of chakra left.  I–”  She was cut off when a sheet of rock rose from the ground behind her, and an instant later she found her limbs pinned to it by metal braces.

_Magen: Binding of a Thousand Senbon._   Needles began pouring through the trees behind Sasuke, hammering into Tayuya’s helpless form by the dozen.  Sasuke could barely hear her screams through his earplugs, but he could see the anguish on her face.  In reality, the woman stood in front of him completely unharmed physically, her limbs stretched out like she was actually pinned to a slab of stone.  Outside of using his Sharingan, the illusion was his strongest.  It put his victim under incredible psychological torture while also keeping them still.

“Naruto,” Sasuke started, withdrawing a kunai from his holster.  “I’ve taken care of Tayuya already, and I’m on my way to assist Haku.  Go to Hinata.”  He flicked the knife almost casually at his enemy, turning around before it even hit.

_Got you, boy,_ Tayuya thought gleefully to herself.  The moment the Uchiha’s back had turned she had caught the kunai, and she was already halfway to his exposed back when there was a sharp pain in the back of her head.  She fell with hardly a sound, dead before she hit the ground.  Sasuke – or at least the one she had been chasing – vanished as if he had never been.  The real one was behind her, arm extended after he had thrown a kunai at full force into the base of her skull.

“Did you really think I would be stupid enough not to use layered illusions against you?” he asked her corpse indignantly, tugging out the rubber in his ears.  “I had you with my Sharingan even before the obvious one.”  He watched to make sure that her skin had returned to normal before actually turning away, satisfied.  Sasuke took to the trees immediately, heading southeast.

* * *

  _What was that about helping Sasuke?_ Naruto asked dryly, alighting on a broad branch and looking around.

**_It was the better idea and you know it, idiot._** **_Maybe this would be the time to point out that you overshot his position by a few hundred meters._**   The Fox’s tone was halfway between annoyed and smug, and it elicited a scowl from his vessel.

_He’s good at suppressing his chakra,_ he glowered back, pivoting to face approximately southwest.  _Wait, why do I have to explain this to you?  Jerk._ With that he took off into the woods, speeding towards where Hinata would be battling Sakon.  He hoped that either one of them would be exerting themselves enough to sense more clearly.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

It would be difficult to decide which littered the area more: melting icicles and senbon, or the kunai crafted from Kidōmaru’s golden web.  The projectiles blanketed several thousand square meters of forest.  Haku was beginning to tire, but he had been faster than his adversary and had scored a few hits as a result.  He had been struck by only one kunai, but it had only cut less than a centimeter into his right shoulder.  Still, after using so much chakra and maintaining his speed for so long, the Leaf shinobi was slowing down.  Meanwhile, Kidōmaru’s movements hadn’t changed, but he had been creating significantly less projectiles.

_He must be low on chakra, too._ Unfortunately, taijutsu had always been Haku’s weakest point, and genjutsu had never been important to learn under Zabuza.  He was an assassin, with speed and capability with ninjutsu enough to rival a jōnin.  But his adversary had already been waiting for him, making a typical stealth maneuver impossible.  His ice mirror trick had even been countered, albeit barely.  _Have to take risks to achieve my goals.  Sasuke-kun wouldn’t give up so easily._ Haku withdrew his last two senbon, and then all but vanished between one tree branch and the next.

Kidōmaru had drawn the shaft of an arrow back just then using the flexible webbing as a string and the gold web as a bow.  He was suspended between three trees, feet braced against his bow and several arms helping to cock the arrow back.  Just as he was about to let it loose, however, Haku disappeared from view.  “Annoying trash,” he growled, keen eyes trying to look in every direction at once.  He didn’t have eyes in the back of his head, however.

_Hijutsu: Ice Storm_.  Haku’s heel slammed into the top of Kidōmaru’s head at the same instant that his webs shattered.  He wasn’t known for his strength, but his opponent hadn’t expected him to engage in close combat either.  The blow sent the Oto-nin careening towards the forest floor, innumerable icicles hot on his heels.  A web shot from his mouth and latched to the nearest tree, changing the fall into a swinging motion that got him clear of the rain of ice.  Haku froze that web as he dove down, throwing his adversary off course and towards the ground again.  Kidōmaru turned the fall into a roll, rounding on Haku with a snarl.

“Oh, so now you want to go for close combat, huh?”  He raised his fists – all six of them.  “Good; I prefer brawling to this game of hide and seek.”

“I’m afraid you won’t be getting what you want, then,” Haku replied, his hands already blurring through seals faster than Kidōmaru’s eyes could track.  The series ended with both arms apart, his hands forming a set of individual seals.  “I just needed to get you out of the trees.  It’s hard to deal with you when you move around so much.”  Before Kidōmaru could leap forward to attack, he extended his palms to either side and murmured, “Hijutsu: Frozen Wasteland.”

To his credit, Kidōmaru didn’t stick around to see what jutsu the other boy was using.  He had a web shooting towards a high branch before Haku had finished speaking, but when the adhesive cord went to stick it simply slid off.  He lurched mid jump, falling back to the ground.  “What the . . .”

“You won’t be using the trees anymore,” Haku explained calmly.  “At least, not those within . . . Oh I don’t know, maybe a few hundred meters in every direction?”  Even as he spoke ice was layering over _everything_ – flowers, foliage, and entire trees, from their roots to the tips of the highest branches.  It wasn’t the white, opaque ice that might naturally cover a landscape, either.  It was like someone had taken countless reflective crystals and coated everything in sight with them.  Everywhere Kidōmaru looked he saw his own reflection, and then he understood.

“It’s like that mirror trick you used earlier,” he started slowly, a bit of fear creeping behind his eyes.

“Something like that.” Haku only smiled before extending his hand to a tree – his fingers entered the frozen surface as if it were water, and the rest of him followed shortly after.  “I don’t have much chakra left after that,” he admitted, his voice echoing eerily around the shimmering woods, “But I shouldn’t need to be using much more.”  As if to prove his point, an icicle hit Kidōmaru’s shoulder from behind, staggering him forward.

“You little effeminate coward!” he shrieked, ripping the barb out with one hand.  “Too scared to fight me face-to-face, huh?!”

“‘Cowardice’ is a term created by those not strong enough to survive in this world.  A shinobi must use every weapon in his arsenal to accomplish his mission, be it utilizing stealth or brute force.  You may have fared well against a ninja that would allow you to stay hidden, but your fate was decided when I chose to be your opponent.”  Three more frozen senbon streaked out of nowhere, and Kidōmaru had to lunge to one side to avoid two of them.  The last dug into one of his arms, and he winced in pain.  He started running, cursing all the while as he slipped on the now impossibly slick surface.  His eyes cast around desperately, trying to find the end of the technique.  It was nowhere to be seen.  “It is no use.  You will die here.”

“Shut up!” Haku’s ghostly taunting was starting to get to him, and his eyes grew wider and wilder as he ran.  He was a long range fighter, one that had always been able to whittle down his foes while forming a strategy from afar.  Even in close combat he could excel, largely due to his extra limbs.  But Haku had cut off his means of keeping a distance with deadly effectiveness, and at the same time made it impossible to engage in melee.  It was a trap without an exit for someone like Kidōmaru.

_I shouldn’t drag this out,_ Haku chastised himself.  _I need to conserve what chakra I have so that I can be of help to the others._   And with that decision, the fight ended decisively.  Like he had done once upon a time at Bridge Seven, only on a much larger scale, Haku began flying between the iced-over surfaces with untraceable speed.  Icicles poured out from every tree, cascaded down from every branch, and erupted in a wave from the ground all around Kidōmaru.  He didn’t even have time to scream.  His body was lost to view in seconds, left as nothing more than an unrecognizable mound of jagged ice.

“Wow.  Remind me to never piss you off,” Sasuke said, arriving in a long slide across the frozen forest floor.  He shook his head as he came to a stop, clearly impressed.  “Nice work, Haku.”

“It was nothing special,” the other boy commented humbly, flowing up out of the ground next to Sasuke.  It was clear that he was pleased to hear such praise, however.  “That’s three, right?”  He wavered, nearly falling forward before his friend appeared there to catch him.  Haku found his head resting on Sasuke’s shoulder, and before he could object he was being picked up and settled on the Uchiha’s back.

“Just take a rest; that technique looks like it was pretty chakra intensive.  I’ll be moving west as fast as I can, so hang on tight.”  Haku didn’t need to be told twice, although his blush indicated that he had more reasons to hold on than for simple security.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

One thing Hinata had learned from sparring with her friends was that, no matter the differences in strength and speed, fighting against two opponents was going to be harder than going against one.  Sakon and Ukon were slower than her individually, but it was literally impossible to avoid every one of their attacks when engaged with both at once.  As such, she never allowed herself to be engaged with more than one at a time.  She determined very quickly that Ukon was the better adversary to fight herself, for the sole reason that his strikes lacked the power that Sakon’s possessed.  After several minutes of furious melee, she also discovered that he tired much more quickly as well.

Sakon had to deal with his fair share of obstacles as well.  The very first thing Hinata had done was summon a Shadow Clone to fight him, which in and of itself was enough to give him a hard time.  She and her clone were faster than their opponents, and although the bunshin would vanish if struck, Sakon would have to find a way to land a hit in order to accomplish that task.  Any time he did manage to get rid of a clone and move to help Ukon, however, a volley of shuriken or a well-aimed kunai would delay him long enough to summon another to fight.  No matter which direction he was in, Hinata could see him.

“This one is obnoxious, brother!” Sakon called through gritted teeth, swiping at the third clone now.  Hinata was beginning to feel the drain from creating multiple bunshin, but Ukon wasn’t letting up his assault long enough to allow her a more permanent solution to her handicap.

“Her eyes let her see in all directions,” Ukon growled, narrowly avoiding a chakra-laced palm strike.  “I need to get inside.”  Hinata didn’t like the sound of that, but it wouldn’t do her any good to banter.  She swept her knife in an arc, its tip coming within a centimeter of Ukon’s cheek.  At the last second she pushed chakra through the special blade, sharpening and extending it in an instant.  The Oto-nin howled as the energy pierced his skin, and he jumped back reflexively.  That was the opportunity she had been waiting for.

“Genjutsu: Binding!” The technique hit Ukon while he was still in the middle of his leap, his body stiffening as he fell to the ground.  Hinata had been so focused on casting the jutsu that she hadn’t noticed Sakon defeat her clone, and he was now closing in behind her.  She started to turn, but it wouldn’t be fast enough.

“Hakke: Mountain Crusher!” A blast of wind caught Sakon mid stride, sending him spinning violently past several trees before he smashed into a rock at the edge of a nearby cliff; with a bit more force he might have sailed right over it.  Hinata’s eyes were wide as she completed her turn, staring in disbelief at the last person she had expected to come to her aid.  Neji landed lightly beside her, his eyes hard on the enemy she had immobilized.  “Are you alright, Hinata-sama?”

“I’m . . . fine,” she started, shaking herself to get rid of the shock.  “What are you doing here?  How did you find us?”

“You were supposed to be at the banquet half an hour ago,” he began calmly, keeping an eye on Sakon as he spoke.  “I searched for you when you didn’t arrive.  I found Naruto’s coat where you usually train, as well as several sets of footprints leading to and from that location.  It was not difficult to deduce what had happened.”

“But how did you find us?  We were carried through the trees once they were out of Konoha.”  Sakon had gotten to his feet by now, although he looked a little dazed.  His brother was still trapped frozen on the ground, only able to blink every few seconds to prove that he was conscious.

“Most of the Inuzuka Clan lives near the Konoha Memorial.  Kiba and Akamaru got your scent from Naruto’s coat.” He lowered himself into a jūken stance, and Hinata did the same.  “Are you injured?”

“Only a few scrapes and bruises,” Hinata said, shaking her head.  “Thank you, Neji.  I–”

“Pitiful.” Both Hyūgas whirled towards where Ukon lay, eyes going wide as they found the source of the new voice.  A tall young man stood over the fallen brother, looking down at him with eyes filled with naught but contempt.  His hair was pure white, and his uncaring eyes were a vibrant and uncaring green.  The newcomer’s clothing was similar to the rest of the Sound Four, though different enough to indicate that he wasn’t of the same rank.  The most disconcerting part was that neither Hinata nor Neji had seen him arrive.

“Kimimaro,” Sakon wheezed, trying to get air back in his longs after Neji’s blow.  “Why are you here?  You–”

“I won’t trust Orochimaru-sama’s dream to anyone.  I’m glad I made that decision, seeing as Tayuya and Jirōbō are already dead.  Kidōmaru likely isn’t far behind them.  You would be, too, if there weren’t two of you.  Kai,” he added as an afterthought, releasing Ukon from the genjutsu.  “Get up.”  He did as he was told, scrambling to his feet and over to his brother before Kimimaro decided not to be so forgiving.

“Their eyes let them–” Ukon started, but he was cut off by his superior.

“I know of the Byakugan.  Do not get in my way.”

“Hinata-sama, be careful.  He’s–” Neji didn’t get the chance to say ‘strong’ before Kimimaro was simply _there._   He had moved so fast that he had been lost between one blink and the next.  A long, slender bone had extended from the middle of his palm, and it was already slicing down at Neji’s neck.  The only thing that kept his head on his shoulders was his cousin’s intervention.  Hinata had anticipated the movement a breath before it had occurred, and her knife was up just in time to catch the sharp length of bone.  She had to brace the block with her other arm, both due to the angle and the older boy’s strength.  He wasn’t as strong as Naruto, but his speed paralleled Kakashi’s.

“Quick,” he murmured, eyes traveling slowly to Hinata.  “Very quick.  Let us see how fast you can be.”  Bones began to grow out of his skin, from the tops of his knees, his shoulders, and the backs of his elbows.  It was a bizarre, almost sickening sight to behold.  It was finished in the span of a second, however, and he began to move without warning.  “Dance of the Willow.”

Sakon stayed well away from the fight, making it a two-on-one in the Hyūgas’ favor.  Even so, they were immediately put on the defensive.  Hinata had fought Kakashi with her teammates before, and this was very reminiscent of those times.  His attacks were blinding, using all of the bone blades effectively against both her and Neji together.  He sliced, twisted, flipped, and pressed forward with overpowering alacrity and precision, allowing absolutely no room for counterattack.  He defined what it meant to be a taijutsu specialist.  But it only got worse from there.

Hinata managed to slip in a single palm strike on Kimimaro’s shoulder, but she was forced to jump back and immediately begin dodging and parrying again with blood now dripping from the offending hand.  Bones had emerged from the intended point of impact, preventing the blow from connecting and injuring her in the process.  It was a perfect defense.

_We have to create some distance,_ Hinata thought desperately, still side-by-side with Neji.  She pivoted on one heel to avoid a straight jab, bending fully backward in the same movement as Kimimaro’s knee spiked towards her a fraction of a second after.  As she straightened, it seemed that she was too slow to dodge yet another straight lunge.  At least, that was how it _seemed_.  The bone impaled her at the waist, but a cloud of smoke revealed it pierced into a log instead.

“Hakke: Chains of Light!” Links of chakra streamed from her open palms, racing towards Kimimaro.  She was standing sideways on the tree trunk next to where she had been a moment before, not even three meters from her opponent.  Even at such a close range, the older boy managed to deflect one of the chains with a sharp flick of his wrist.  The hook at the end of the other latched onto his shoulder, unhindered by the bones attempting to stop it.  It pulled Kimimaro off balance, and Neji took the opportunity without hesitation.

“Hakke: One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!” Neji became a vaguely beige-colored blur that sought to match Kimimaro’s speed.  He purposefully pulled the first sets of strikes, not willing to risk what had happened to Hinata.  As he continued, however, the bone growth wasn’t able to keep up with how rapidly the hits were coming.  “Sixty-four strikes!” One of his hands was sliced by a bone that had grown to block a different strike, but he only grit his teeth and ignored it for the final set.  “One hundred twenty-eight strikes!”  Even Kakashi with his Sharingan wouldn’t have been able to avoid so many attacks, all landing in the span of two or three seconds.  The final blow struck Kimimaro square in the chest and sent him staggering back into another tree, and he sagged against it for a few moments, his eyes downcast.

“Good work, Ukon,” Kimimaro said calmly.  He straightened with little effort, nodding towards the tree on which Hinata stood.  After staring in disbelief for a few seconds, Neji glanced back at Hinata with his extended peripheral vision.  His blood ran cold.

“I’ve got you now,” Ukon purred in Hinata’s ear, his voice filled with devious delight.  Only his head and neck were visible, both sticking out of Hinata’s left shoulder.  “Shouldn’t focus so hard like that, or you might miss something.  Time to start . . . taking you apart.”

“Hinata-sama!” Neji was already halfway turned to sprint towards her when Kimimaro appeared again, forcing him to roll to one side.

“She will be dead in a matter of minutes,” he said calmly, tapping the tip of one of his bone swords to his chest.  “That technique you used was impressive, but any taijutsu – even that augmented with chakra – cannot beat me.”  The bone made a hollow clacking sound as it touched his flesh, indicating a layer just beneath his skin.  “Now, let’s see how you handle my Dance of the Camellia without somebody watching your back.”

Meanwhile, Hinata was trying not to be sick to her stomach.  It was disturbing enough that Sakon and Ukon could live inside of one another, but the fact that they could enter another person was an invasion of personal space on a whole new level.  “You can still move, you’ll find,” he assured her, although she had already moved of her own free will to land at the base of the tree.  “But the more you move, the faster you’ll be killed.”

_I don’t feel any different,_ she reasoned, trying not to let panic get the better of her.  _He said a matter of minutes . . ._ Hinata followed the trail of logic.  If Ukon really was inside of her body, then it meant that he had merged at a subcellular level.  He wasn’t able to do it immediately, and as she felt nothing physically . . . _He’s either replacing every cell in my body with his own and taking me over, or just destroying mine._   It was the only thing that made sense given their peculiar kekkei genkai.  She had to test it, just to make sure.

Without any visible hesitation, Hinata gripped her trench knife and drove it straight into her own thigh.  She bit down hard on her lip to stop from crying out, but she was rewarded when Ukon let out a howl of agony.  “What the fuck are you doing?!” he screamed.  Hinata gave the head a frosty little smile.

“Let’s see who outlasts whom.” She ripped the knife out with a small gasp of pain, drawing out more curses from Ukon.  Green light glowed beneath her bloodied palm as she mended the wound, reducing the pain to a dull throb.  She wasn’t about to kill herself to make sure that he died; she wasn’t about to leave Naruto, Sasuke, and Haku behind.  But she would be damned if she let this parasite get his way.  Hinata drew upon fierceness that she hadn’t known that she possessed, and drove the knife hard into the other leg.

Ukon either had a relatively low tolerance for pain, or he had an aversion to apparently insane kunoichi.  When Hinata was on her way to stab the knife into her side, Ukon lurched out of her to one side, falling weakly onto his back.  She stopped the blade only a half centimeter in, unable to keep a small, triumphant grin from her features.  “You’re crazy,” he panted, still holding a hand to the most recently ‘injured’ leg.

Hinata hadn’t missed Sakon’s movement during the ordeal, even though he had been directly behind her.  She twisted to catch his wrist and drove a hard kick into his gut, though the action caused her to wince in pain.  The self-inflicted injuries had only been repaired enough to allow for mobility, and not nearly enough to fix all of the damage.  Still, there was no choice but to keep fighting.

“Hinata-sama!” Neji gasped, falling to his knees.  There were several puncture wounds on his body, including a few in his legs that had caused the collapse.  Blood dripped from nearly all of Kimimaro’s protruding bones, but the young man wasn’t in front of Neji anymore.  He was already behind Hinata, and before she could twitch he brought a spinning hook kick slamming into the back of her head with all of the strength he possessed.  It connected with a terrible crack, and she lost consciousness even before she was thrown through the air like a ragdoll.  Unlike Sakon, however, she was not lucky enough to be stopped by the rocky outcrop.  “Hinata-sama!” Neji cried again, struggling in vain to make his body move.  He could only watch as her limp body flew over the side of the cliff, going some ten meters out before beginning to plummet helplessly.

“Hinata!” Sasuke veritably roared, tearing through the midst of the skirmish.  Haku landed next to Neji in a ready stance, facing down Kimimaro.  The Uchiha was almost to the edge of the cliff, not even knowing what he was about to do, when Naruto’s voice barked sharply from behind him.

“Sasuke, help Neji!  I’ve got her!” It was difficult for anybody but Sasuke to track the reddish streak that shot out of the treetops.  It hit the ground at a dead sprint, which for Naruto was akin to the speed of a lightning strike.  Sasuke barely managed to skid to a halt at the edge of the drop off, pivoting sharply to do as his friend suggested.

Naruto didn’t slow down as he plunged towards the edge of the cliff, but he extended his hand as he passed the outcrop that Sakon had struck, hitting it with his palm as he passed.  A small triangle of jutsu-shiki was left behind, complete with the Leaf and Whirlpool insignias at the center.  Nobody had time to notice the Hiraishin seal in the chaos, and the next instant he disappeared from view over the side.

The first thing Naruto noticed was that the plateau they had been fighting on was frighteningly high, at least a kilometer if he had to judge off of a first glance.  The second thing was that the place from which he had jumped was an outcrop, and that the actual cliff face was several dozen meters further in.  The last item of importance was that the only thing waiting for them at the bottom was a narrow bed of jagged rocks and more forest.

**_While I should commend you for thinking far enough ahead to apply that seal before you jumped, I should also point out that you have never even attempted the Hiraishin.  Ever._ **

_I can do it,_ Naruto assured him confidently, going into a straight dive towards Hinata.  _I don’t have the chakra to make enough clones to reach the cliff, and even if I did we’re falling too fast for them to grab anything.  If I put all of your chakra into my legs and back, can I survive the fall?_

**_You’ll reach your maximum falling speed in a few seconds, and no amount of chakra is going to stop every bone in your body from breaking.  You might survive it – barely – but she will not.  Thinking about these things_ ** **before _you jump to your death might have served you well._**

_I’m not letting her die, and I’m not going to die either._ His tone carried with it a finality that wouldn’t allow any room for argument.  The Kyūbi muttered something under his breath, but he didn’t offer any more criticism.  _I’m going to use the practice jutsu to get Hinata back there, then I’ll use the Hiraishin._

**_You have enough chakra for it, with my help,_** Kurama grunted.  **_It’s an idiotic, suicidal plan, but I’ve come to expect little more from you, Uzumaki Naruto._**   The blond couldn’t help but grin fiercely at that.  **_At least if you die, I’ll be back in a few years.  That’s not so bad._**

_Whatever, you dumb fox.  Let’s do this._ He could feel Kurama roll his eyes, but there wasn’t time to focus on more banter.  He had almost reached Hinata, and they were halfway to the end of their fall.

Wind whipped past Naruto as he continued his dive, forcing him to narrow his eyes against the artificial gale.  He adjusted his descent as best he could, though maneuvering in midair was difficult even for the most seasoned shinobi.  Using concentrated bursts of chakra at different points on his body, he was able to get close enough to grab hold of Hinata’s ankle.  He pulled her to him, conscious of the back of her head that was now matted with blood.  She looked pale, but at least she was still breathing.

He turned her around as he flipped over, his back now racing towards the rocks below – only three hundred meters to go.  “Haku, Sasuke, Neji – catch Hinata!” he yelled into the wind, hoping that the Wind Whisper jutsu would reach his comrades from there.  _Concentrate._ Hinata was falling at the same speed as he was now, her body parallel to his as it seemed to float just above.  Naruto closed his eyes, fixating on his seal and channeling chakra as quickly and as carefully as he could.

Two hundred meters.

The moment he felt the link solidify his eyes snapped open, and with an enormous effort he forced enough chakra through to repeat the steps he had learned for transporting the stones, only on a much larger scale.  He felt the drain instantly, and the Kyūbi’s cloak flickered as it took on a good portion of the burden.  Hinata disappeared like she had never been there, and all Naruto could do was hope against hope that he hadn’t screwed it up.

One hundred fifty meters.

**_Let’s go,_** Kurama barked, urgency lacing his every syllable.  **_Three seconds._**

One hundred meters.

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, ignoring the weariness he was starting to feel.  He didn’t allow himself the time to curse Gaara for weakening them before this ordeal.  _Concentrate!_

Fifty meters.

**_Do it now!_ **

_Damnit . . . Damnit . . . Now!_

With a fraction of a second to spare, and when his back was only a few meters from the ground, Naruto disappeared.

* * *

 His message had come through, albeit barely.  The others heard it as if listening from a great distance, the words cutting in and out to be replaced by howling wind.  Sasuke was busy fighting – and winning – against the significantly weakened Sakon and Ukon, and Haku seemed to be having a staring contest with Kimimaro.  It was Neji who rose and turned, trusting that Haku would watch his back.  Every movement sent a lance of pain surging through his legs.  He didn’t know what Naruto was talking about, but he turned towards the cliff and waited, every muscle tensed and ready.  He wasn’t made to wait long.

Hinata simply appeared out of thin air in front of the rocky outcrop, the inertia from her fall transferring into upward momentum from the seal’s location.  She flew up and over the treetops before her progress slowed, her listless form once again beginning to fall.  Neji reacted with as much speed and grace as he could manage.  He raced along beneath her, vaulting into the trees with only a few snarls against his throbbing, numbing limbs.  As Hinata began to come down, Neji tore through the canopy with a final burst of effort.  His arms slipped beneath her, holding tight as he reentered the trees and landed hard on a high branch.

“Got her,” he gasped, more to assure himself that he had actually done it than anything else.  Neji didn’t know how Naruto’s voice had gotten to him, and neither did he know how to communicate back.  It was best that they stay put for now, far enough from the skirmish to be out of immediate danger.  He was of little use after Kimimaro’s Dance of the Camellia, and somebody needed to tend to Hinata.  “Hiashi-sama will see the end of me if I allow you to die.” With that he settled her head as comfortably as he could on his lap, rummaging through his belt for medicated gauze and bandages.  It wasn’t much, but it was all he could do at the moment.

* * *

 “I remember you,” Kimimaro started slowly, eyes hard on Haku.  “We crossed paths once, in the Land of Water.”

“Yes, we did.  Your eyes haven’t changed since that day.” Haku offered the other boy a small, sad smile.  “They look like how mine used to: a little sad, and determined to fight for somebody important to you.”

“Your eyes still say as much, except . . .” He tilted his head, as if confused.  “I see no sorrow in you.  What happened to the man you were traveling with?”

“He died.” The manner in which Haku spoke seemed a touch detached, like it still wasn’t something he was comfortable talking about.  “I’m appreciative of him – Zabuza – for taking me in, and I believe he did care about me in some capacity.  But . . . I’ve realized now what it means to have real friends, and people who truly care about me.”

“Orochimaru-sama values my service,” Kimimaro responded coolly.  “He gave me his greatest gift, in the hope that I might one day become his vessel.”  He touched a hand to the seal on his chest, one similar to Sasuke’s save with curved lines rather than tomoe.  The seal glowed then, and more thin lines began branching out from the originals.  They didn’t go far, only extending a short ways across his torso and disappearing under his shirt.

“Maybe he does,” Haku admitted, shrugging.  “But that doesn’t mean he cares about you as a person.  He might just want to use you.”

“That is the case.” The flat reply took Haku by surprise, but Kimimaro only watched him with cold eyes whose sclera had begun to blacken.  “Orochimaru-sama doesn’t need me anymore.  If I can bring him the vessel that he desires, however, then I will gladly give my life to do so.”  His eyes flicked to Sasuke for a moment before going back to Haku.  “I have no quarrel with you, shinobi.  Stand aside, and I will spare your life.”

“My name is Haku, and I am a ninja of the Hidden Leaf.  I will fight to protect my comrades – I will fight for my friends.”  He crouched into a low stance, prepared for the inevitable.  Judging by Hinata and Neji’s conditions, it was fair to assume that Kimimaro was a great deal stronger than he was.  But that didn’t mean he had the option of backing down, either.  He wouldn’t let Sasuke be taken away.

“Well said, Haku-san!” Haku blinked as something green appeared beside him.  It took him a second to realize what – or rather _who_ it was.  Lee stood tall by his side, one bandaged arm held behind him while the other extended at an angle towards Kimimaro.

“Lee . . .” Tenten sighed, appearing on Haku’s other side with a morning star approximately as tall as she was.  She held it casually as she chastised her teammate, not taking her eyes from Kimimaro.  “You were supposed to hit him from behind so we could do a combination attack.”

“I couldn’t let such passionate words go to waste!” he said indignantly.  “Haku-san’s fiery spirit is inspiring, and I wish to fight alongside him!”

“Um . . .” Haku was at a loss for words.  “How did you . . .”

“Followed Neji; he looked like he was going somewhere in a hurry,” she said dismissively, hefting the massive weapon onto one shoulder like it weighed nothing.  “This guy’s kinda weird looking, huh?”  While growing bones out of one’s skin was abnormal in and of itself, Kimimaro now had dozens of the protrusions extending from every area of his body.  His arms, back, legs, and chest all featured new spikes.

“He seems able to manipulate his bone structure without limit, including growing more.  He’s also a taijutsu specialist, and–” Haku was interrupted by Lee’s cry of delight.  The exuberant youth clenched his fists, and his black eyes became spots of fire.

“Yosh! If he truly is a master of taijutsu, I wish to test my strength against him!”

“But Lee, his bones–” Apparently, Lee was not at all concerned with Kimimaro’s bloodline ability.  Tenten, however, was wise enough to bodily throw her giant mace at their opponent before leaping back.

“Let him go at it!” Tenten called back to Haku, landing next to a nearby tree and promptly settling down.  “Help Sasuke out!” She then began withdrawing scrolls from various places on her person, including the large one that had been slung on her back.  Haku wasn’t sure what she was doing, but he trusted that they could handle themselves.

* * *

 Sasuke wasn’t having a problem dealing with the demonic duo, but neither had he managed to incapacitate them.  The brothers were adept enough at taijutsu to be a threat, but his reflexes and Sharingan enabled him to avoid their every strike.  The fight took place everywhere, never lingering in one place for longer than a few seconds as Sasuke sought to never be engaged with more than just one.  He let loose blasts of fire between exchanges, and every time he landed the earth would attempt to swallow or rise up against him.  It seemed ninjutsu was their forte rather than physical combat.

“Hijutsu: Demonic Ice Mirrors.” All too familiar panels of ice rose around Sasuke and his adversaries the moment they touched down again, blocking all exit routes.  The Uchiha smirked at Sakon and Ukon, jumping back and through one of the narrow gaps between the mirrors.  They leapt after him, but were forced to dodge to one side to avoid a volley of senbon.

“Little shit,” Sakon muttered, his back against his brother’s.

“A jutsu like this can’t contain us,” Ukon growled, and before the next rain of ice could come they both slammed a hand to the ground, spreading jutsu-shiki across the entire circle.  “Kuchiyose: Rashōmon!”  The ground trembled and ruptured beneath their feet as an enormous gate broke the surface, rising rapidly and shattering almost all of the ice surrounding it.  Haku rolled out of one of the remaining panels, breathing hard as he came to a kneeling stop.  The twins straightened in front of the massive doorway, readying themselves for another assault.

“Take it easy; you’ve already used most of your chakra,” Sasuke said urgently, stepping up beside his friend.  “I’ve got plenty to spare, and I think I know the perfect jutsu for these two.”  Haku wasn’t sure if he liked the chilling smile spreading across the Uchiha’s features, but at least he looked confident.  Sasuke brought his hands into the dragon seal as he had seen Kakashi do many times now, staring down Sakon and Ukon.  “Magen: Insanity.”  Haku’s lips parted in surprise as the brothers went rigid, and all of a sudden their expressions went blank.  Just as suddenly they turned on one another, engaging in a vicious melee and completely intent on killing one another.

“That’s cruel,” Haku breathed, standing gingerly.  “But effective, I guess.  Lee and Tenten are here; they’re fighting Kimimaro and . . .” He was interrupted – for the third time in five minutes – by a roar from nearby, coupled with a colossal wave of chakra that nearly knocked him over.

“Third Gate: Seimon . . . Release!” Lee’s voice rang through the woods like a battle cry.  Haku and Sasuke looked at one another, eyes wide, then dashed through the trees towards the battle, leaving Sakon and Ukon to fight one another to the death.

* * *

 Kimimaro may have been a taijutsu specialist, but he had never fought against someone capable of opening the inner gates.  The terrain literally changed around the pair as they battled, every one of Lee’s kicks capable of felling a tree and every punch with enough force to shatter stone.  Bones that ought to have caught and stopped the blows splintered beneath them, forcing the Oto-nin to desperately avoid them instead.  Even though he maintained a solid layer of bone under his skin, every strike from the empowered genin could easily damage him.

“Lee – back!” Tenten called.  He was gone even before the sound of her cry dissipated, a furrow of torn earth all that was left of his departure into the trees.  “Sogū: Consuming Heavens!”  The scrolls set out all around her writhed and shot away from her, seemingly of their own accord.  They spanned out around Kimimaro in the blink of an eye, unraveling as they went until a dome of parchment had unfolded around him.  Without preamble the technique began, and both Haku and Sasuke skid to a halt to watch the scene unfold.

“Remind me never to get on your bad side, either,” Sasuke put in, eyeing the jutsu approvingly.  Nothing could be seen inside of the dome except blinding light.  Projectiles were being ejected from every bit of every scroll so fast that they appeared to be nothing more than streaks of white.  The display went on for a full thirty seconds before the final bursts of luminescence faded, allowing the scrolls to flutter to the ground.  What was left behind resembled a small hill, except it was made entirely from kunai, short swords, kama, and a myriad of other weapons, some of which were foreign even to the other two shinobi looking on.

“Nice work, Lee,” Tenten remarked, standing and producing a kusarigama from nowhere.  Haku and Sasuke blinked, discovering only then that Lee was standing just behind them.  His skin had turned a reddish hue, and chakra was continuously leaking from his fists and feet, somehow forced into a loose spherical shape around the youth.  It was such a staggering amount of raw power that even Sasuke couldn’t help but openly gape.

“He’s not yet defeated,” Lee started, taking a few steps forward.  They all looked back to see the mound of metal shifting, gradually growing at the center as if Kimimaro was trying to stand up.  Sasuke cursed and reached for his last kunai, throwing it hard at the pile of weapons with a wire trailing behind.

“Raiton: Current,” he murmured, molding the chakra into electrical energy.  It surged through his arm and down the length of cord, hitting the amalgamation of weaponry and lighting it up in an explosion of sparks and arcing light.  The electricity crackled and arced everywhere for a full ten seconds, some of the bolts cutting molten furrows into the ground surrounding Kimimaro.  Even so, when the jutsu finally died down, the clatter and clanging of weapons being cast away still met their ears.  “Oh come on . . .”

“You cannot . . .” Kimimaro coughed, spattering blood on the ground. “You will not defeat me with such paltry abilities.  I am sworn to Orochimaru-sama, and I will not lose to the likes of you!” With a roar that sounded more feral than human, Kimimaro threw out his arms and spun once, and every munition that had struck him flew out in all directions.

“Fūton Kekkai: Wind Wall!” Tenten extended her arms forward and swept them out to either side, creating a buffer of air ten meters across.  The projectiles hit the barrier in a strange way; as the wall wasn’t a physical one, they sank into it a ways as they slowed, then rebounded at twice their speed.  Most whirled harmlessly off into the woods, but a few added insult to injury and struck Kimimaro once again.  He looked nothing like what he had a few minutes before.  His skin was dark, nearly the color of charcoal, and most of the bones had receded into his body again.  Now several huge bones protruded along his back, bending out at odd angles.  Extended vertebrae ran from the base of his neck and down to a newly formed tail, giving him the appearance of a miniature bipedal dinosaur.  “Ah . . . Lee, I think this is beyond my expertise.”

“Sasuke-kun, we must fight him,” Lee asserted, taking a step forward.  Haku looked as if he was about to join, but Sasuke put a hand on his arm and shook his head.

“Stay with Tenten.  We’ll take care of this.”  No matter how much he wanted to argue, Haku knew that Sasuke was doing what was best.  He would only be in the way with how little chakra he had left, not to mention his poor taijutsu.  Sasuke nodded, then rolled his shoulders.  “Don’t tell Naruto about this; he’d kill me.”  With that he unfettered the seal on his shoulder, allowing it to flow over his body and release Orochimaru’s senjutsu chakra into him.  It was an intoxicating feeling, but he had little time to focus on it.

“Fourth Gate: Shōmon . . . Release!” Once again power surged through Lee, and more veins started to show along his temples with the effort of freeing massive amounts of chakra into his system.  A bright green glow enveloped him then, and his lean muscles began to bulge under the strain.  When the corresponding blast of energy had faded, he spoke as quietly as he could to Sasuke.  “I can only maintain this for a short time.  We must end this quickly, with the full power of our youth.”

“Something like that,” Sasuke smirked, trading more of his chakra for the malevolent violet power.  He became wreathed in the same deep indigo shroud that had come about the first time, looking for all the world like he was burning under a strange flame.  “Let’s do it.”  Haku and Tenten had to cover their eyes and stagger back as the pair charged their foe, stones, dirt, and torn up roots flying everywhere in their wake.

It was difficult to tell what was happening for the first few furious seconds.  Purple and viridian blurs circled Kimimaro so fast that they became nothing more than indistinguishable lights, occasionally blending together into a blackish smudge.  Whatever the transformation had done to the Oto-nin, it had slowed his reflexes noticeably.  For a time he could do absolutely nothing but hold a guard, covering his head and relying on the incredibly thick skin and bone to absorb the impacts of the innumerable strikes.  Blasts of fire enveloped him periodically, gifts from Sasuke whenever he decided to slow his pace a fraction to form the required hand seals.

Without warning – and without any visible communication – Kimimaro was sent airborne, the result of a vicious vertical kick from Lee that had caught the older boy on his chin.  Sasuke was cleared to one side in an instant, racing through a complex series of hand seals as Lee vanished from the forest floor.  He reappeared above his opponent, fist already making impact with Kimimaro’s stomach in a crushing blow that ripped the wind out of him and forced more blood from his gasping lips.  Lee wasn’t done yet, either.

“Fifth Gate,” he ground out, hand moving like lighting to catch the rope tied about Kimimaro’s waist.  “Tomon . . . Release!”  There was no visible eruption of chakra with this gate, but the immense burden on Lee’s body was visible to those below.  Blood trickled from one nostril, and it looked as if a vein had ruptured on the side of his head, creating an angry looking hematoma.  Even still, it wasn’t enough to stop his next and final strike.  He pulled up on the rope as hard as he could, bringing Kimimaro racing towards him at a speed faster than the initial kick had provided.  His other hand plunged downward in an open palm strike, chakra streaming to either side.  A few of the bandages at his fingertips caught fire due to the sheer speed and friction of the attack, although only Sasuke’s eyes were able to see it before the actual impact put them out.

Kimimaro’s body all but disappeared as it was struck, hitting the ground the barest fraction of an instant after the blow.  The resulting collision was catastrophic, even when compared to the terraforming that had already occurred.  Tenten was forced to throw up another barrier to block the massive chunks of debris, which included several entire trees and boulder-sized rocks.  The ground shook so hard that one might expect a localized earthquake to have hit.  A cloud of debris plumed into the air, quickly covering the whole area in a haze of brownish dust.  Even then, Sasuke wasn’t ready to call it quits.

_Katon . . ._ His hands clasped together into a tiger seal, and he took a long, deep breath.  _Great Dragon Fire!_ Flames erupted from his mouth in a giant torrent, but rather than flow outward or into a vague shape, they twisted together and formed into the very distinct image of a dragon’s head.  The fire burned so hot that all of the moisture in the area was sucked away with the oxygen, leaving cracked lips and parched mouths all around.  The jutsu made a very audible roar as it streaked away from its caster, guided down into the center of the newly created crater by Sasuke’s Sharingan.  Lee made it clear just in time.  An infernal column flared into the sky, incinerating every branch and bit of foliage in its path.  It was brief, but for a moment the only thing anyone could see was a bright red-orange light, and the only thing they could feel was every exposed bit of skin gaining first degree burns.

Lee hit the ground hard, his complexion back to normal.  He tumbled several meters before skidding to a halt, rolling onto his back with a pained groan.  Sasuke was down on one knee, the cursed mark withdrawing rapidly as he struggled to get his breath from the oxygen-depleted air.  “That . . .” he gasped, “Should do it.”

“Yes,” Lee agreed, wincing as he made an unsuccessful attempt to rise.  He was having trouble moving at all.

“Don’t try to move on your own,” Tenten said tersely, landing by his side to help to his feet.  “You didn’t need to take it that far, Lee.”

“I had to make sure he would be finished,” he protested, barely managing to clench his fist.  “I had to show him my–”

“Yeah, yeah, your power of youth and whatever.  Are you alright, Sasuke-san?”

“I’m fine, just . . . really, _really_ tired.” Haku was at his side already, one arm under his shoulder to help him stand.  Sasuke offered him an exhausted but appreciative smile.  “Thanks.  Would you mind contacting Neji and Naruto?  I think I’m lower on chakra than you are at this point.”

“Of course, Sasuke-kun,” he replied gently, happy to be able to help again.  “Fūton: Wind Whisper,” Haku murmured, directing the flow of air towards Neji and Naruto’s chakra signatures.  “Neji-san, the fighting’s over.  It’s safe now.  Naruto . . .” He trailed off, his brow furrowing into a quizzical expression.

“I . . . won’t . . .” Four sets of eyes snapped back to the center of the smoking crater, growing wide as a burnt hand clawed towards them.  Through the haze they could barely make out Kimimaro’s charred shape, though his eyes were all too visible; his eyelids had been completely melted away.  “I won’t . . . lose . . .” he croaked, trying desperately to move towards them.  “Orochimaru . . . sama . . . I can’t . . .” Haku averted his eyes, unable to watch the piteous sight.  Kimimaro dug his clawed fingers into the dark silt, and bones began a half-hearted rise from the ground around him.  “Dance . . . Dance of the . . .” The incomplete technique hung heavy in the air, the last and unfinished words of a young man lost to his own wish for recognition.  His hand fell limp, and the bones that had begun sprouting from the ground abruptly stopped.  Kimimaro was left lying in a small patch of his own bones, his last breath escaping him as a rattling, regretful sigh.

“I like it better when I don’t feel sorry for the people we kill,” Sasuke muttered.

“Sometimes they’re just too far gone to bring back,” Haku said simply, helping his friend move next to Lee and Tenten.  “I’m just grateful that you found me before then.”

Neji stepped out of the woods a minute later, carrying Hinata very carefully in his arms with her head resting against his chest.  Sasuke looked worriedly at her for a moment before noting that her breathing seemed to be normal, although she looked fairly pallid.  He blinked then, looking around questioningly.  “Where’s Naruto?  I thought he was with you looking after Hinata.”  Neji raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

“He wasn’t here with you?” All five of them swallowed as realization dawned: Naruto had never come back from his dive off of the cliff, but Hinata had.

They went back to the cliff as a group, passing Sakon and Ukon’s Rashōmon on the way.  The brothers were fused back together now, slouched against the gate and still gripping a kunai that was plunged into their combined hearts.  Apparently one had gotten the idea to merge with the other, and the response had been suicide to kill the invader.  It was a gruesome sight, but the genin had more pressing matters to take care of.

No one said a word at first as they reached the rocky outcrop, only staring at the small symbol on its face.  After a time, Lee glanced at Sasuke, wondering why the remaining color had drained from the Uchiha’s face.  “What is that?”

“It’s . . . Naruto’s Hiraishin seal,” Sasuke said hollowly, unable to take his eyes from it.  He hadn’t had the chance to realize it during the tumultuous battle, but now the pieces were beginning to come together.  He could hear Naruto’s voice clearly in his head, recalling the last words he had spoken to them all.  If Hinata was here, but Naruto wasn’t, it meant . . .

“What does that mean?” Tenten asked nervously.  Sasuke’s demeanor was making her increasingly anxious.  “Where’s Naruto?”

“He’s . . . Gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god I finally finished it. Over eighteen thousand words of action sequences. Somebody please send a mental first aid kit, ‘cause my brain feels like mush. X_x
> 
> Ahem, I mean . . . Heya folks! I hope you enjoyed this incredibly lengthy chapter – my brother already pointed out that, on its own, it’s about 1/5 the length of your average novel. I’m not sure if I should feel good about that or not.
> 
> I don’t really have any notes for the chapter that I can remember. There were a few more techniques that I made up, and I tried to keep their power levels in check throughout (that includes the enemies). I based my assumptions on the canon data book entries for their enemies, then my personal data books for my Team Seven that I keep in Excel. Hopefully everything made sense and was entertaining enough!
> 
> The official break from canon begins now, for any still wondering. The story will cross paths with the canonical timeline of course, but for all intents and purposes this will be an original storyline from here on out.
> 
> Thank you for reading through this monolithic chapter, as well as for the follows, favorites, reviews, and PMs I’ve received since the last. You guys are great.
> 
> Thank you as well to Rhi for, as always, doing a splendid job with edits. And this time (and hopefully for the foreseeable future), a thanks to my new beta, ‘V’. He’ll be working alongside Rhi and I during the editing process, and I couldn’t have asked for a better addition.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> \- Wes
> 
> P.S. The first piece of art I had commissioned for CFKD is finally finished! For anybody wanting to see it, I linked to it in my fanfiction.net profile. Many hearts.


	25. Believe

It was unseasonably warm for early November, although the weather had been fairly erratic ever since the battle between the bijū.  The sky was a clear blue, allowing the sun to bear down on the jagged rocks and boulders at the base of the great cliff.  The forest wasn’t far off, less than fifty meters from the cliff face, and it resonated with the cacophony of innumerable cicadas.  The call of a sparrow hawk mixed in at irregular intervals, along with the frightened chirps of its prey.  All in all, the scene was something more fitting for the middle of summer, but it was becoming all too familiar for two genin in particular.

Sasuke slumped down at the base of a tree, grateful for its shade.  He wiped at the sweat coating his brow, grimacing a second later when he realized that he had just trailed dirt and dust across his face.  It matched the rest of him, at least.  His black attire was thoroughly coated in a layer of the same filth, but it didn’t really bother him anymore.  It was something that he and Hinata had gotten used to.

“We’ve covered this area with a fine-toothed comb for kilometers in every direction,” Sasuke sighed, shaking his head tiredly.  “Twice.  I think we should move further out.”

“In a minute,” Hinata called back.  She stood atop a huge boulder, her features set in concentration.  Her clothes were similarly grimy, especially noticeable on the crème-colored skirt where dirt had been smudged and ground into the fabric.  She pivoted in place after a few seconds’ stillness, her back knee hitting the ground as her palm thrust towards the stone underfoot.  The movement ended in a lunge as the heel of her hand struck the rock, and for a moment it seemed as if nothing had happened.  A few seconds later, however, there was a tremendous groan beneath her feet, followed by a thunderous crack that could have passed for a nearby storm.  Cracks streaked out from her hand, creating a chaotic network of razor-thin fissures that spread at least a half-dozen meters in every direction.  No violent explosion followed; the massive stone simply crumbled and fell into thousands of tiny chunks.  Hinata kept her balance on a small piece, riding it down into the crevasse left behind from the strike.

“You good?” called Sasuke, squinting into the haze of unsettled debris.

“Fine,” she replied, her voice tight and thick with exhaustion.  “I don’t even know what I’m looking for at this point.”  The young Hyūga’s form became visible a moment later, at first just a blur beyond the dust.  Sasuke could see the fatigue expressed in her body language, from her downtrodden features to her lethargic movements around the fragments of rock.  He frowned.

“You could’ve just used your Byakugan on that one,” he started as she approached.  “I know you’ve already used it a lot today, but . . .” He trailed off, shrugging.  “You already look pretty tired.”

“I just felt like breaking that one,” she replied dully, sinking down next to him and leaning her head back against the tree trunk.  Her eyes closed, and she took a deep breath of the silt-free air.  “It’s just . . .”

“I know.” Sasuke averted his gaze for a moment when she swallowed and nodded.  The situation was beyond words at that point, and they had suffered the conversation too many times now.  “We’ll find him, no matter how long it takes.”  Hinata nodded again, and he pretended not to see her swiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.

“I know.  It’s just . . . hard, to look every day and not find a trace of him anywhere.” She nodded towards the cliff, wincing once and touching the back of her head.  “As far as we know, he transported me using the Hiraishin practice jutsu, and then never came back.”  Her eyes scanned around, bleakly examining their surroundings as the dust cleared away.  “He would have landed around here, too.  Even . . . Even if he were dead, we’d at least have–”

“Have what?” Sasuke interjected, his tone hard and somewhat impatient.  “Closure?  Come on, Hinata.  Neither you nor I would get anything out of finding him dead except a lot of pain and anger.  If he used the Hiraishin like we think he did, then he might still be alive.” Hinata recoiled slightly, and he immediately regretted being so harsh.  It had been difficult for both of them, but she had taken it harder than anybody, and he couldn’t blame her for that.  He put a hand over hers and squeezed, trying for a soft smile.  “I’d rather spend my life hoping that he’s still alive and searching rather than sinking into despair and believing him dead.  Tsunade-sama gave us indefinite leave in order to find him, and I intend to use it.  What about you?”  Several minutes passed in silence, and only after several more did Hinata finally squeeze his hand back, albeit weakly.

“Me too,” she said quietly, her eyes becoming unfocused as she stared off towards the cliff.  “It doesn’t make it hurt less, though.  I just wonder how long it will take for me to stop hoping that I’ll see him around the next corner.”  Sasuke couldn’t really respond to that with anything that might help.  Eventually their searches might become mechanical, the hope that they would find their friend alive long since gone.  But that wasn’t a reason to give up.  As long as there was a chance, they would stubbornly forge ahead.  “I’m just glad . . .” She stopped and shook her head, and for the first time in weeks a small smile seemed to be tugging at her lips.  It was a sad, almost invisible thing, but it was there nonetheless.  _I’m glad I got to tell him._

Sasuke understood without her having to finish.  It was a much different situation from when last she thought Naruto dead, and he found himself wondering what that said about her.  Was that just a part of living as a shinobi – getting used to friends dying?  Would it eventually become just a brief ache, one that passed almost as quickly as it came?  He had to suppress a shiver at the thought.

“Let’s go meet up with Neji and Tenten, and maybe get something to eat.  I’m willing to bet that you didn’t eat breakfast again.” Hinata pursed her lips and seemed like she wanted to protest, but after a few seconds she only shrugged and pushed herself to her feet.  She took off before he could stand, and he was left staring after her retreating silhouette as she vanished into the trees.  He ran his fingers back through his hair, tugging in frustration at a few knots created by the morning’s fruitless search.  Sasuke kicked off the ground, bounding after his friend and doing his best to ignore the pang in his chest that never seemed to go away.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Pain blossomed across Naruto’s face as it struck hard stone, and for the briefest instant he wondered if the Hiraishin had failed.  But then, if it had, he wouldn’t have been able to think at all.  He yelped as he felt the heat beneath his cheek, jumping up to gain his feet.  He reached up to touch the left side of his face and found it warm to the touch, the skin there a bit tender.  And that was when he began to notice his surroundings, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach as he took everything in.

He stood staring down into the smoking crater of a volcano, mere centimeters from the edge of the rim.  The far sides of the chasm were lost to sight; it must have been several kilometers in diameter at least.  A slow turn revealed that it was dark in all directions, as far as the eye could see.  Black ash hung in the sky like thick clouds, blocking out any sunlight that might have been trying to penetrate it.  Most of the ambient illumination came from lava flows that dotted the landscape all around.  The air smelled of earth and sulfur, and taking regular breaths was difficult in the stifling heat.

_So uh . . . We’re alive._ It took several minutes of wide-eyed observation to get that out, and then several long seconds to receive a response.

**_Due only to luck,_** Kurama grunted, observing their surroundings through Naruto’s eyes.  **_You’ve landed us atop Mount Hiuchi – almost_ in _it._**

_You’ve been here before?_ Naruto coughed and went to cover his mouth and nose with his coat’s high collar, only to find that it wasn’t there.  _Oh, right – left it at the training ground.  Crap._   He supposed that was a good thing, considering the heat.  He felt weak, almost completely drained of chakra after transporting Hinata away and using the Hiraishin.  He reached up to untie and unfold his scarlet headband, pulling it over his nose and mouth like a makeshift mask against the acrid air.

**_Aye.  I was not free to roam the land for long, but I had travelled most of the Fire Country before I was sealed.  This is a venerable volcano, one that predates your species altogether, and its tenant is even older still._ **

_Tenant?  You mean somebody lives in there?  And how do you know this stuff anyway?  You’re not **that** old._

**_Because I met The Ancient Fire once, and he is one of the few beings that I hold in high regard.  This is his domain, and you have stumbled into it like a blind kit.  I suggest you depart quickly, lest you wish to flirt with death another time this day._ **

_Can you at least tell me who this Ancient Fire guy is, and why he lives in a volcano?_ Naruto huffed, turning from the crater to start making his way down the steep slope.  Before he could make it more than a few steps, and before Kurama could reply, the ground began to tremble.  The rock all around the mountaintop seemed to expand outward, as if under a great pressure from within, and foul-smelling steam burst from the many cracks between the bulging stones.  The temperature began to rise rapidly, and the oppressive heat made him feel feverish.  It was all he could do to keep his feet as he turned to find the plume of smoke rising from the caldera that crackled with innumerable sparks, illuminated by the bright reds and oranges of the lava writhing far below.

**_I guess it’s too late,_** the Kyūbi sighed.  **_Try to die quickly, if you don’t mind._**

_Wait, what’s going on?!  I’m not about to die just after using my dad’s jutsu!_ It all seemed pretty unfair.  When did he get a break?  Orochimaru attacked in the Forest of Death, Suna and the Ichibi assaulted Konoha at the tail end of the Chūnin Exam, almost immediately after recovering he had been chased down by Akatsuki, then Gaara came back for round two, Orochimaru’s henchmen kidnapped them straight after that, and now in the same day he had accidentally transported himself to a volcano that was home to something very old and very dangerous.  Something may have snapped within Naruto then.  His anxious expression hardened and his jaw set, his features twisting into a snarl.  He took a step towards the roiling volcano’s crest, stomping his foot down on the rock and bellowing his half-crazed defiance.  If he was about to die – again – then he might as well get a word in this time.

“Bring it on then!  I didn’t come here on purpose, but if you wanna fight then you’d better be ready to throw down!  I’m not scared of you and your stupid volcano, old man!”  Strangely enough, the ground stopped shaking then, and the sparks shooting from rising smoke died away.  Naruto blinked.  _Uh . . . Did I scare him away?_

Fire, lava, and molten rock exploded out of the crater and into the sky, and it was only the shock of the explosion that saved Naruto from getting burnt to a crisp.  He fell back with cry of surprise, tumbling down the slope several meters until he managed to slide to a panicked stop.  He was on his feet in an instant, eyes darting around and trying to keep track of every piece of deadly debris coming his way.  Several tense seconds passed as he dashed from side to side and up and down the mountainside, desperately trying to avoid being struck.  A stream of lava whipped past his head, missing by less than a meter and nearly setting his hair ablaze.  A boulder nearly as tall as he was came bouncing wildly down, forcing him to leap over it and twist midair to avoid being hit by two glowing shards of rock.  It wasn’t until he had landed from that maneuver that he realized that there was a rumbling noise nearby – _very_ nearby.  It was coming from inside his own head.

_Are you laughing?!_ he asked incredulously, ducking another rock the size of his fist.  Kurama’s deep chuckling continued, heedless of Naruto’s indignation.  He probably would have verbally ripped the Fox a new one if his eyes hadn’t fallen on the mouth of the caldera again.  Instead, his jaw dropped open.

Something was rising out of the magma, which had already reached the rim and now threatened to cascade down the side of the volcano.  Whatever was emerging, it was _huge –_ bijū sized, even.  At first it was just an amorphous shape drenched in lava, but when Naruto realized _how_ it was carrying itself upward he was able to start picking out bits of familiar anatomy.  There was a head there definitely, though it was still completely covered in liquid fire.  Out to either side and spanning nearly the entirety of the crater was a pair of colossal wings, beating slowly and sending more molten rubble flying with every downstroke.  The last things to rise were the creature’s talons, the claws of which longer than Naruto was tall, every deadly point dripping slag.

_I . . . changed my mind . . ._ Naruto thought weakly.  He was still staring at the thing, now clearly identifiable as a giant bird – a giant bird that was mostly composed of _fire._   The lava had finished flowing away from it now, revealing plumage that flickered and burned in a near blinding display of color ranging from the deepest greens to the brightest reds.  The bends of its wings were nearly black, but each new layer of feather transitioned gradually through the heat spectrum.  From the dark blue of its scapulars, the plumage flowed smoothly to amethyst, the purest white, brilliant yellow, rich orange, and finally ending at the primary feathers with a vibrant crimson.  Its body was a sunburst of organic flame, spreading from an alabaster breast into warm hues of burnt sienna.  Its tail was longer than what would be found on a normal bird, like that of a peacock, the colors of which reflecting those in its wings.  A pair of luminous golden eyes stared down at Naruto over a dangerously hooked beak, although they seemed to be intrigued rather than angry as expected.

**“Kurama, dide thou placest the youngling unto this?”** The Ancient Fire alighted on the crater’s edge as it ‘spoke,’ its voice coming into being from everywhere and nowhere.  The mountain trembled again as he landed, although it seemed to be in response to his voice rather more than anything else.  In fact, not so much as a pebble was misplaced by the gargantuan bird.  His voice was deep and resonant like the Kyūbi’s, but it was much calmer, more dignified, and held none of the ire that Kurama’s did.

**_The phrase you’re looking for is ‘put him up to this,’ and I did not, old friend,_** the Fox said in a bark of booming amusement.

**“Then why doth he looketh frightened so?”**

**_I may have led him to think that you were going to kill him.  You would have to know him to understand why; this little cretin never ceases to annoy me._ **

**“Thou hast not changed, hast thee little one?”** Kurama glowered within his mindscape prison, but surprisingly offered no retort.

While the two were talking – inside of his mind, apparently – Naruto simply stood gawking.  The lava had receded after The Ancient Fire had fully emerged, and everything seemed to be settling down again.  Now he was just standing a few meters away, staring wide-eyed up at a firebird whose full height could nearly have reached Kurama’s back if they were to stand together.  He supposed that he probably did look pale and unnerved, and who wouldn’t?  It took him a few seconds to shake himself out of the stupor and interrupt the conversation.

_I ah . . . Yeah, Kurama’s always been an ass.  But so, you’re not going to kill me?_ It was hard to tell, but Naruto could have sworn that he saw a flicker of amusement on the bird’s features.  He felt it more than saw it, at any rate.

**“Nay, child.  Thou hast defied death once; who would I be to tempte fate’s hand a second time?”**

“You know about that?” Naruto asked aloud, deciding that it was getting a little crowded inside his head.  He was having a hard time figuring out what was being said, too, but he did his best to listen and try to understand.  “What . . . Who are you?” he corrected, not wanting to offend the being so soon after being granted clemency.  He silently thanked Iruka for teaching him manners.

**“The answer to both who and also what I am are one and the same, and yet they are as different as the sun and the moon,”** he responded cryptically, eyes glimmering in the light put off by his feathers.  **“My names are many, although most refereth only to what I am, but some hinteth at more.  Through thine epochs, The Ancient Fire was most widely used.  Eternal Flame, Guardian of Time, Keeper of Secrets, The Ageless One; many were the titles bestowed upon me, all of which holdeth truth, yet none of which ringeth true.”**

**_You lost him,_** Kurama sighed.  **_All of his names mean different things,_** he continued by way of explanation, **_And they describe different parts of who he is, but none of them really tell his real name or what kind of being he is.  Right?_**   The Eternal Flame slowly cocked his head to one side, considering the explanation for a moment before nodding approvingly.

**“The kitsune speaketh truth.”**

“Okay, so . . .” Naruto started, rubbing irritably at the back of his neck.  His head was starting to hurt, both from the multiple conversations going on and from trying to understand what was being said.  “You have a lot of names you go by, but what is your real name?  And if none of those tell me what you are, then . . . What are you exactly?”  The Ancient Fire straightened his head, then tilted it to the other side.  And then he smiled.  It was an impossible gesture to perceive just by looking at the bird, seeing as its beak was fairly inexpressive, but Naruto could suddenly feel a profound and genuine warmth spreading through him that was unmistakable for anything other than joy.

**“I am known as a phoenix in thy tongue, and my true name is Feng.  I have been waiting for thee, Uzumaki Naruto.”**

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“That takes care of these areas,” Tenten murmured, reaching over to mark off locations on the large map spread across the table.  To either side of her sat Lee and Neji, and across from them Hinata, Sasuke, and Haku watched as she took a compass and drew a wide circle around a dot labeled as ‘Konohagakure.’  On the inside of that circle were other smaller ones, shrinking in size until they reached the village marker.  “So we’ve covered almost eighty kilometers around the village in every direction, give or take a few hundred meters.  We’re making pretty good progress!” She looked up with her smile only to find the gesture lost on her friends.  Sasuke had his arms crossed and was staring out the window; Hinata’s gaze was distant and somewhat vacant, unfocused somewhere past Neji’s left shoulder; Haku merely chewed on his lip and watched his companions with no small amount of worry written plainly on his features.

“Yosh!” Lee agreed, pumping his fist into the air.  “We’ll find Naruto-kun in no time!”  Hinata blinked out of her reverie at the mention of his name, but only to offer a weak smile before glancing down at the map.

“That means it’s taken us nearly three weeks to search a radius of eighty meters, which means . . . about twenty thousand square kilometers?” she asked, and Tenten nodded reluctantly after a moment to confirm the math.  “Fire Country is estimated to be near eight hundred thousand square kilometers, so if we maintain our pace then we’ll have searched the whole country in . . . two years and three months, give or take.”  Lee frowned at that, as did Tenten, though Neji’s features betrayed nothing as he joined Sasuke in his task of examining the window.  “If you add in the surrounding countries, let alone the rest of the world, it means–”

“It means what?” Haku asked before Sasuke’s mouth could get halfway open to reply.  The older boy seemed apprehensive to speak, but as he continued his voice grew stronger and more confident.  “It means that it’ll take ten years?  Twenty?  Fifty?”  Hinata only shrugged, continuing to look down at the barely-traversed map of the ninja world.  “Our whole lives?  Are you implying that it’s not worth it to find a person that’s precious to you?”

“Haku,” Sasuke started, wincing at his friend’s fervor.  Haku’s teeth clacked shut immediately; he knew that cautionary tone.  But it was too late to take it back now.  This had come up several times before already, and they all knew how Hinata felt.

“It’s not a matter of worth,” Hinata said quietly, not looking up.  “It’s just about accepting reality.  I know you all want to keep searching, that you think it’ll help us have hope or come to terms with what’s happened.  B-but I . . .” She stopped, closing her eyes for a moment to will away the stutter threatening to invade her speech.  “I knew going in what could happen, and I knew it from experience.  I knew that . . . every time we got a new mission, one of us might not come back.  I knew that, and so did Naruto.  We don’t need to keep doing this,” she continued in the same muted tone.  “If he is alive – and I will always hope that he is – then nothing will stop him from coming home to us.  Nothing.”

It was a painful mixture of resignation, despair, and insincere optimism, and no one could say a word in response.  Hinata stood in the silence, offered a little bow and a mumbled apology, then turned and walked out.  The five remaining watched after her, their sorrowful expressions feeling all too familiar as of late.  It hurt to see her like that, but there was almost nothing they could do for her now.

“I’m going to walk her home,” Sasuke sighed after a few seconds, sliding his chair back and nodding to his friends.  “See if you all can come up with a better strategy in the meantime.  Jiraiya-sensei said that improperly used space-time ninjutsu can transport the user somewhere relevant to them, so see if you can find places like that.  Whirlpool Country might be a good place to start that list, but just use what Hinata and I compiled about Naruto to see if you can think of others.”  Tenten gave him a dubious look, but nodded and pulled a stack of papers from a bag hanging on her chair.  Sasuke nodded again, thanked the others, and departed after Hinata.

* * *

 “I don’t need you to console me,” Hinata said as Sasuke approached.  “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine, so don’t pretend like you are,” he muttered, falling into step beside her.

The setting sun had done a fair job at clearing the streets, although it was only a matter of time before the night crowd started to take over.  The restaurant they had been in – Shushuya – had become a place of meeting for their group ever since Naruto’s disappearance.  It was the kind of establishment that drew older crowds that enjoyed their sake, but subsequently was pretty quiet until the evening hours when the heavy drinkers came around.  Tsunade went there to ‘check up on them’ every once and a while, apparently able to run off for a drink here and there despite her new duties as the Hokage.

“I _am_ fine,” Hinata gently insisted, keeping her eyes down.  “I’m not doing well, Sasuke, but I’m okay.  We . . . Naruto and I didn’t leave anything unsaid this time, and I’ve been preparing myself for this ever since the Chūnin Exam.  It’s part of who we are and the path we chose to walk, the same as it is for you.”

“They just want to help,” Sasuke put in after a minute, scrounging around for something to say.  “They’re all just worried about us – about you especially.  I’ve sort of . . . been around the block with this kind of thing.  No amount of preparing is going to make it stop hurting, Hinata.”  It was her turn to wince, and he did his best to soften his tone as they stopped outside of the apartment complex.  He turned to her and put a hand on her shoulder, waiting for a few seconds until she reluctantly met his eyes.  “It’s not going to go away – you wouldn’t be human if it did.  But we’re here for you, just like you and Naruto were there for me back then.”

A very long thirty seconds passed with hardly a twitch from either of them, and Sasuke had expected little else.  Outside of simply being withdrawn, Hinata hadn’t shown a shred of anything that one might expect from a tragic loss.  She hadn’t been angry, not at herself, Naruto, her friends – anybody.  It was obvious that she was carrying a weight around, but she hadn’t even shown real sorrow; Tenten had a good cry or two, and Lee had shed a few tears during a passionate speech, but not Hinata.  She hadn’t been anything in the last few weeks.  She walked around with hardly a sign of vitality within her, and any expression she offered seemed forced.  It was like she was in shock – only it wasn’t that at all.  She had simply chosen not to feel.

Very slowly, in a movement that seemed almost dreamlike, Hinata took a step forward to close the distance between them.  Her features betrayed nothing, but Sasuke could feel her shaking the moment her arms circled his waist.  He blinked in awkward surprise at first, not sure how to react.  He’d hugged her once or twice over the years, so it wasn’t as if the action was new.  But he had never been the one to comfort her, to give her a shoulder to cry on when she was hurting, and he had never embraced her like this while trying to soothe the pain away.  But he had also meant it when he said that he was there for her.  Sasuke moved his arms to wrap around her, holding on in a fierce yet gentle gesture – perhaps more the former than the latter.

“Thank you,” Hinata said in a small, fragile voice.  “I’ll . . .” She bit her lip and closed her eyes, then took in a steadying breath.  “It’ll take a while, but . . . I’ll really be okay eventually.  I promise.”  _I will be._ No matter how many times she told herself that, it never seemed to get any truer.

* * *

 Hinata closed the door to the apartment behind her, listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen where Iruka was cooking dinner.  It had only been a week since they had moved into the new place, and everything was already put in its place.  The kitchen was just off of the entry hall on the left, complete with a small dining area and an adjoining den that served as a living room.  There was a small bathroom straight ahead as she entered, though its use was largely reserved for guests.  Down the hall on her right were their bedrooms, with Iruka’s master suite at the end on the left.  A linen closet occupied the left wall of the hallway as well, and opposite it were two more bedrooms and a full bathroom between.  It was their new apartment, and it was larger than the previous one, but it hadn’t felt like home yet.  She wasn’t sure if it ever would.

“Hey Hinata,” Iruka greeted her warmly as she entered.  He tossed a colander filled with steaming noodles a few times before emptying it into a sizzling wok, wafting the scent of various spices through the kitchen.  “You’re just in time; the yakisoba is almost ready!”  Hinata tried her hand at a smile in response, and Iruka took it in stride.  He continued where he had left off in humming nothing in particular, and in no time Hinata had cleaned up and gotten the table set for them to sit down to eat.

“Itadakimasu,” they said in unison, Iruka’s jovial tone a fair bit louder than Hinata’s subdued voice.  The meal was simple and finished quickly enough, only occasionally disturbed by his occasional mentions about how the day at the academy had gone.  He didn’t push her to speak; he never did.

“Iruka-sensei,” Hinata started, placing the last dish on a rack to dry before continuing.  “How do you do it?”

“Do what?” He blinked a few times, giving the impression that he was genuinely oblivious towards the purpose of her inquiry – even if that wasn’t the case.  She chewed absently at her lower lip, trying to find the right words.  Iruka waited patiently; he knew what question was coming.  It had only been a matter of time.

“How can you be so lighthearted when Naruto’s not here?” she asked, almost tripping over a few words in her rush to get them out.  “He’s not . . . It’s not . . .!”

“It doesn’t seem right, does it?” he queried, the corners of his lips tugging up into a minute, somber smirk.  He was quiet for a few seconds before rising from the table and setting a clay kettle on the stove.  “Would you join me for some tea in the living room?”  Hinata blinked, and he shrugged.  “We haven’t really had a good talk in a while, and tea always goes well with conversation.”  She nodded then, and with a little coaxing Iruka got her to go sit down while he waited on the water to boil.

In short order Iruka joined her on their old sofa, the same one that had served as Naruto’s bed for so many months.  He offered her one of the two steaming mugs of green tea – each with a spoonful of honey, of course.  They sat for a short while in silence, sipping at their drinks before they had a chance to cool too much.

“I don’t really have a good answer for you,” Iruka replied at last, unable to keep himself from chuckling at that.  “I’ve been asking myself that question for weeks now, and I’ve come up with a few ideas, but no real definitive answers.

“The thing is . . . It just doesn’t _feel_ like Naruto’s . . . dead.” He stopped for a moment, like he was digesting his own words before going on.  “I’ve known him since he was young, and I’ve taken responsibility for him since he was six years old.  I’m the closest thing he’s ever had to a real, living parent, and well . . . I can’t really explain why, but I just don’t feel like he’s really gone.”

“I don’t understand,” Hinata said quietly, staring down into her half-empty cup.

“Neither do I,” Iruka admitted with a laugh, rubbing at the back of his neck with his free hand.  Hinata looked up, and couldn’t help but notice how similar he and Naruto looked when they did that.  “I guess as his surrogate father, I feel like I would simply _know_ if he had died, like I would feel it somehow.”  He shrugged again and took another sip of his drink, looking pensive.  “Maybe that’s unreasonable, but it’s what I have.  Deep down, I feel that he’s still alive, and that he’ll come back to us.  It’s why I can wake up every day and smile, and why I can still laugh and try to enjoy life as best I can while he’s away.  At the end of the day, I’d rather always believe that he’s alive, and in the meantime remember the years of joy and hardships with him.

“There are other reasons, of course,” he sighed, swirling the tea in his cup.  “Ones that are more practical, I suppose.  I’m sure you’ve noticed that Sasuke seems mostly normal.  He may be profoundly upset and hurting, but outwardly he’s the same friend you’ve known for years, isn’t he?” Hinata nodded, wondering what he was getting at.  “It sounds cold to say, but it gets easier as time goes on.  Losing people you love, I mean.  You’ll always feel the same amount of pain, but you’ll learn how to manage it better, and you learn how to keep being yourself.  You have to, or the pain will end up driving you mad.”  She looked away at that, going back to biting her lower lip and willing herself not to give in to the tears.

“These always help me,” Iruka went on, setting his mug down on the low wooden table by the couch.  He reached for a drawer set in the table’s side, and he pulled it open to reveal a stack of photographs.  “I started taking pictures as a hobby maybe a year after Naruto came to live with me.  These are the memories I have to go back to whenever I get sad, because they help me remember what kind of person Naruto _is_ , and how terribly he might scold me if he finds out I was getting down about something silly.”

Hinata took the photos tentatively, beginning to go through them with fingers that she pretended were not shaking.  Before long, however, she found herself smiling and giggling for the first time since Naruto’s disappearance.  Unsurprisingly, every picture was either of Naruto or one with him in it, and he was wearing his familiar broad grin in most of them.  They didn’t seem to be in any particular order; she flipped from one of seven-year-old Naruto enjoying a bowl of homemade ramen to the next with him sparring shirtless with Sasuke.  There was a picture for everything he loved, from ramen to training to watering plants to . . . her.

“This is . . .” she breathed, coming to the last photograph in the stack.  Tears welled up without warning, but she found herself smiling despite them.  The final picture was of the two of them, lying fast asleep on the very couch she was currently seated on.  Hinata’s back was up against Naruto’s chest, one of his arms hanging off the side of the sofa and serving as a pillow for her head.  A soft green blanket covered them both just below the shoulders, but she could see where his arm circled her waist beneath it.  His face was nuzzled into the nape of her neck as he slept, and she could clearly see his soft, sleepy smile through a few stray locks of her hair. Iruka must have woken during the night or very early in the morning to have sneaked that shot, and she was glad that he had.

“You can keep that one if you’d like,” Iruka said gently.  “Despite that talk we had a few months back, I have to admit that you two always look cute when you fall asleep together.”  He felt a little guilty chuckling again, seeing as Hinata was doing her best not break down.  She wiped at her eyes with the bandages on her arm, though a few tears managed to escape and patter down atop the glossy image in her hand.  “I know it’s hard, Hinata; it has been for me, too.  But never forget that you have people around you that love you, and that it’s okay to rely on them from time to time.  Above all else, never lose hope, and always _choose_ to call upon those happy memories.  I like to think it’s what he’d like us to do while he’s away.”

Hinata didn’t say anything, and she couldn’t have if she had the desire to.  Iruka understood, and with a last little smile he retrieved her mug and left her to her own thoughts.  He had said his piece, and it was up to her to decide what to do with it.  She sat there for a long time, holding that picture to her chest with her eyes closed, just thinking.

She knew that the way she had been handling everything wasn’t healthy.  After Naruto had definitively died during the Chūnin Exam, Hinata had sworn to herself that she would steel herself against that trauma.  She had vowed not to be in denial if it ever happened again, to go through life with no regrets so that she could handle it.  But no matter how fervently she told herself that, and no matter to what degree she was convinced that it was the ‘right’ thing to do, she just couldn’t do it.  Even the thought of it hurt too much, and maybe that was why Iruka was so confident in the idea that Naruto was alive and well.  Maybe he had to be.  She had thought herself strong, that she had been handling Naruto’s presumed death in a reasonable manner with poise and dignity.  In reality, all she had done was bury it deep inside, bottled up while every day the throes built upon one another.  Maybe it was time she let herself feel that pain of loss, and replace all of the hurt with the hope everybody was trying to give her.

Some time later Hinata finally rose from her seat.  She had briefly considered sleeping there, but it just didn’t feel right without Naruto.  Instead she tugged the green blanket from where it hung over the back of the couch, pulling it around herself and stepping slowly from the room and out of the den and kitchen areas.  She moved silently down the hall, passing the first two doors on her right to arrive at the last.  Iruka’s bedroom was across the hall on the left side, and hers was the first on the right.  She took a deep, trembling breath before turning the doorknob and slipping inside.

The bedroom looked almost identical to Naruto’s old one, at least before she had started living there.  It was substantially cleaner and more organized than it might have been if he were there, however.  His full bed was nestled in the corner opposite the doorway, right up against a wide curtained window.  A bedside table with a lamp, a dresser filled with his clothes, and a large wardrobe filled to bursting with his equipment completed the room’s furnishings, discounting the set of weights at the foot of the bed.  A few knickknacks topped dresser; they were mostly just things from his youth, such as the shuriken he had scored his first bull’s-eye with.  The nightstand held a fair number of pictures, the closest to the bed being a picture of Hinata in the dark kimono she had worn to Haku’s trial.  There was another with Naruto and Sasuke fist-bumping, another of their team with Kakashi, and another with Iruka and Naruto.  Those photographs made her smile as well; it was the first time she had seen them since moving in.

Hinata slid up onto the familiar bed and curled atop the comforter, pulling the green blanket around her.  She closed her eyes, pressed the picture to her chest, and began to cry.  At first the tears were silent, but before long they turned into full sobs that wracked her diminutive form with every bit of sorrow she had been holding in.  She wept for what felt like hours, allowing the tears to flow until there were none left to fall.  Ever so slowly, and without even realizing it herself, Hinata drifted off into a deep slumber.  It was the beginning of her first peaceful sleep in over a fortnight.

Across the hall, unseen and unheard, Iruka stared at his ceiling with distant eyes.  This evening’s tears had long since come and gone, leaving long stains trailing down each side of his face.

_Naruto . . . Please, come back to us._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“So let me get this straight,” Naruto muttered, massaging his temples.  “You’re a phoenix, and have been alive for . . . ever?  You don’t remember how old you are?”

**“I have lived and perished many a time, and mine existence dates to before mine own recollection.  It is possible that I have always been.”**

“Right, got it . . . I think.” He didn’t really understand; how could something have just always existed?  Everything had to be born or created somehow.  Maybe the old bird just had a bad memory.  “But why were you waiting for me, and what’s so important that I need to stay here for it?  I need to get back to my village!”Feng titled his head to one side again, studying Naruto with his intense avian eyes.  The blond wanted to squirm under the scrutiny, but forced himself to remain still and seated.

**“Precious few mortals may claime to have returned from the brink of death, and fewer still have crossed over and cometh to live once again.  Thou art one that hath entered my domain, blurring a line that ought never to have been frayed but by me and mine.  It was thy doing, Kurama, was it not?”**

**_Partly,_** the Fox shrugged.  **_If he died, I would have gone with him, which would have been inconvenient.  Not all of us get to rise from our own ashes so soon after dying.  His allies played a part in his revival as well, however._**

“What does me dying and being brought back have to do with you?  It’s not like I can do it every time I die; it was just dumb luck that I ever woke up, wasn’t it?”

**“Be that so, mortal?”** Again Naruto had a feeling that the phoenix was smirking at him.  It didn’t help that he sounded like Kurama when he said ‘mortal,’ either.  **“Consider again what I am, and mayhap it will become clear.”**

“You’re a phoenix,” Naruto repeated, staring up at the massive creature with an expression that was a mixture of perplexity and impatience.  “I get that me coming back from dying is sort of like what you can do, but I’m not immortal or anything.  And that still doesn’t answer why you were waiting for me or what you want me to do.”  Feng blinked twice, as if he had been expecting the answer to those questions to be obvious.

**“Youngling, a contract needs must be adhered to.  Me and mine may have but one living contractor, and the last hast been deceased many centuries.”**

**_He’s saying,_** Kurama offered, **_That, as you have died and been resurrected after a fashion, you have met the requirements to enter into a summoning contract._** The Kyūbi’s tone was one of genuine surprise, something that sounded rather disconcerting coming from him.  It wasn’t often that one could catch an immortal off guard.

For his part, Naruto could only stare, his jaw hanging open unashamedly.  He hadn’t given the idea of summoning very much thought since his training with Jiraiya, mostly because it had seemed like Kurama wasn’t a fan of toads.  Now that he was privy to what had happened on the day of his birth, he couldn’t exactly blame the Fox either.  Still, the thought had been far from his mind, and now it came crashing back with resounding effect.

“You want . . .” he started, feeling lightheaded again.  “You want . . . me . . . to sign your contract?”  It made some amount of sense given Feng’s explanation, but . . . him?  He was just a kid – a genin.  It wasn’t something he had ever looked up, but he was pretty sure that genin weren’t normally trusted with things like that.  Jiraiya might have some pull with the toads that could have made it happen, and Naruto also had jōnin-level chakra capacity to make it feasible, but he was likely an exception to the rule.  He understood that Feng had a pretty limited pool of people to select from, but . . . _him?_

**“Aye, thou.  It taketh considerable spirit and strength of will for a mortal to defye fate’s designs, and I see that thou hast more valuable qualities than even those.  Thy companions meane much to thee.”** Naruto blinked out of his daze and nodded, still muddling in disbelief from the whole situation.  One second he had been plummeting from a cliff, and the next he was talking to a phoenix and being offered a contract because he’d died once a few months before.  Was this how these things normally worked?

_What do you think, Kurama?_

**_He can hear you, you know._ **

_Shut up – I don’t care.  What do you think?_

**_I think you would be insane to turn him down.  He is one of a handful of true immortals that I know of, and he’s powerful.  That’s not to mention the knowledge that he possesses from the beginnings of what you mortals call time.  I mean the_ real _beginning, if there even was one._**

_Okay, okay; I got it.  I just want to get this over with and start heading back to Konoha.  You know where we are, so can you get us back?_

**_Aye.  Mount Hiuchi is at the northwest corner of Fire Country.  Feng-sama’s realm spans beyond these borders, even so far as the Land of Earth._** Naruto raised an eyebrow at that, and not just at Kurama referring to somebody so respectfully.  He thought back on the world maps he had seen at the academy, and realized that the phoenix’s territory must stretch well over a hundred kilometers in every direction, into and _through_ two other countries on the way to the Land of Earth.

“Alright . . . I’ll do it.”  Feng nodded, and his beak lifted into what was undoubtedly a birdlike smile.

**“Huang, come forth.”** A light emerged from the feathers of his right wing, appearing as a tiny red dot to Naruto.  As it descended, however, it proved to be another phoenix almost identical to Feng, although without the full spectrum of color in its plumage.  This one was all the shades of a natural fire, in various reds throughout and points of white at the shoulders and breast.  Once the little phoenix got closer, it was clear that it wasn’t quite as small as Naruto had thought.  It was the size of a large hawk, though its wingspan and tail were more impressive.  In its talons hung a small scroll that looked as if it might crumble to dust at any moment, its edges singed black and cracking.  **“This is my daughter, Huang, borne of my ashes at the time of my last awakening.  The scroll she carries is the original, wrought by the first human ever to enter into a contract with me and mine.  Sign, Uzumaki Naruto, so that we might become bound as ones who would spurn death itself.”**

Huang alighted just in front of Naruto, bending to pluck the binding string of the scroll loose with her beak and allowing it to unravel.  The ink contained within was faded and peeling, and there were only spaces for five names in total.  Three were taken already, the first of which covered in little more than a faint burgundy smear.  The second space was taken up by a set of symbols that looked to be tiny images of various things; Naruto recognized a depiction of a valley in one, and of an owl in another.  The final occupied area contained a definite signature of some kind, written using symbols that were close to modern day script but still illegible.  Under each supposed name was a set of fingerprints, presumably of the individual that had signed above them.

Naruto took a deep breath, remembering what Jiraiya had told him about summoning contracts.  He reached up and bit down on his right thumb, his sharp canines doing better than any knife could have in slicing through the skin.  With deft strokes – and having to pause every second or third to make a new incision due to the wound closing – he spelled out his full name as precisely as he could manage under the circumstances.  He had Iruka to thank for the end result being fairly neat, all things considered.  He bit down on his thumb one last time before touching the tip of each finger to it, finally pressing them all down on the parchment just below his name.  The blood-ink shimmered the instant his hand withdrew, crimson flames bursting from every line and curve for only an instant before they vanished.  His dried blood was left behind, looking all too fresh next to the ancient signatories beside it.

**“It is done.  Take thy leave from this place, and callest upon me shouldest thou desire mine assistance.  There is yet much to discuss, but thy haste is knowne to me.  Begone, and may we meete anon.”**

“Thank you, Feng-sama,” Naruto said graciously, affording the phoenix lord a deep bow.  “I’ll come back to talk after I make sure that my friends are okay, I promise.”

**_Why not just summon him?_** Kurama smirked.

_Shut up,_ Naruto grumbled, adding after a moment, _. . . Good point._

**“Huang will serve as thy companion for as long as thou wishest it.  Fair thee well, Uzumaki Naruto.  And thee, Kurama.”**

**_Until we meet again, old friend,_** Kurama intoned reverently.  With that Naruto turned to face southeast, gathered himself, and took off down the side of the volcano.  Huang took to a soundless flight, coming to glide easily by his side as he made towards the bottom of the slope.

_That seemed really strange,_ Naruto thought after a moment, sparing a glance for his new companion before continuing.  _I though contracts like that would be more serious, or at least more formal._

**_Severity and formality are relative terms,_** Kurama shrugged.  **_He was probably just glad to have somebody to hold his contract after so long._**   Naruto blinked.

_Why do you say that?_

**_Think about it, kid.  If he’s been alive for so long, yet has only had three people form a contract with him . . . Well, do the math.  That’s untold eons without being called for a purpose other than that which he creates for himself.  Even immortals can get lonely, I expect._ **

_Is that so?_ Naruto grinned, and the implication had the Kyūbi scowling at him.

**_Shut up and run faster.  You can probably make it to Konoha by dawn if I help out a little, and don’t think I’ll lend a hand if you’re being a brat._ **

_You’ll never stop being an ass, and I’ll never stop trying to get on your nerves.  So you’d better get used to it and just help out, or I’ll start singing and not stop until we get there._ Kurama groaned in response, and the chakra cloak whipped up around Naruto a second later.  The blond laughed, and Huang tilted her head to one side and trilled a few melodious notes by way of serenading their party.  Naruto winked at her, and the Fox snorted in amusement.  _I think we’ll get along just fine, Huang-sama._ No words came to his mind like when Feng was speaking, but there was a definite ring of disagreement around the title he had used, and he somehow understood what she was ‘saying.’  _Okay then – Huang-san it is._

Naruto sped through the night, a reddish blur alongside a similarly colored young phoenix.  He raced across the desolate landscape of The Ancient Fire’s domain, choosing to believe that everyone was still okay.  _Hinata . . ._ He grit his teeth and pushed himself to go faster, hoping against all hope that he had gotten her back safely.

**_Where did I leave off the last time?_** Kurama asked after a while, keeping his tone purposefully ambivalent. ** _Ah, yes – Kushina had just been kidnapped by shinobi from Kumogakure.  It was in the dead of night, and although she was bound she managed to leave a trail of her own hair behind in hope that someone might follow . . ._** Naruto smiled.  The Kyūbi was a pain in the ass a lot of the time, but every once and a while he could do something considerate.  There was a long night of traveling ahead of them, but listening to stories about his parents’ would make the time fly by.

_I’m on my way.  Wait for me._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Naruto stood atop the Hokage monument looking out over the village of Konoha, exhausted but glad to be back home.  He had been confronted by an ANBU agent upon entering village territory, but despite her surprised reaction she had let him pass, at least after he had used some of Kurama’s chakra to prove that it was him.  It had taken most of the night and early morning to get back, and it had be somewhere near three or four in the morning by now.  _But I’m home, at least._ His relief was short lived, however.

**_Something’s not right,_** Kurama murmured.

_What do you mean?  I haven’t felt anything._

**_It’s not a feeling, kid.  Just use your eyes and look closer at what you’re standing on._** Naruto blinked, and then peered down as the Kyūbi had suggested.  The hairs on the back of his neck prickled and stood on end, and he suddenly felt very cold.

_I didn’t think they could carve one of those in just a few days,_ he managed to say after a few seconds.  Down to his left, set in the cliff next to the visage of Minato, was the unmistakable face of Lady Tsunade.  There was no scaffolding to indicate that the project was ongoing; as far as he could tell, it had already been completed.

**_They can’t, unless they’ve gotten exponentially better at it in the last thirteen years.  It takes the craftsmen weeks to carve these likenesses.  That kunoichi earlier seemed far too perplexed, also._ **

_Maybe they did just get better at it,_ Naruto reasoned, shrugging it off as best he could.  The village looked the same besides that, and maybe Tsunade had something to do with it.  He didn’t know much about her, at any rate.  _I’m going to stop by the tower since we’re here, just to report in with Tsunade-sama._

He quickly descended from his perch to the building just below, alighting on the roof just outside of the window to the Hokage’s office.  _I guess she’s taking her new job seriously._   Tsunade was at her desk poring over an array of scrolls, apparently very intent on her work from what Naruto could tell.  Her back was to him, however, so she may very well have been scowling.

Deciding it was best to take the safe route – he didn’t want to end up like Jiraiya, after all – he leapt down to the doors and entered, taking the stairs three at a time until he reached the proper floor.  Another ANBU operative stood by the door to Tsunade’s office, and as Naruto approached he drew his short sword and squared himself facing the blond.

“State your identity, as well as your business with the Godaime.” Naruto stopped, then blinked at the masked man.

“Ano . . . Uzumaki Naruto, and I just wanted to report to Tsunade-sama about what happened yesterday, and why it took so long for me to get back.”  It was the ANBU’s turn to blink – or at least Naruto assumed he did.  It was more of a balk than anything else, but it was clear that the man was confounded.

“Yesterday?” His tone implied suspicion, and Naruto could only raise an inquisitive eyebrow.  “Uzumaki Naruto has been missing for some time, and is believed dead.  Prove that you are the genuine article.”

“Some time?  I’ve been gone for less than twelve hours!” Naruto huffed, but nevertheless he called the Kyūbi’s cloak again as proof.  The shroud sprang to life, and he pulled out enough to form the third tail before the guard straightened and nodded.

“That’s proof enough.  You may enter.” He stood aside, and Naruto eyed him for a moment before allowing Kurama’s chakra to fade.  The blond shrugged, stepped forward, and opened the door.

“It took you long enough to get back,” Tsunade said wryly as soon as the door had closed behind Naruto.  She hadn’t looked up from her work, but Naruto figured that she would have felt his or Kurama’s chakra already.

“Why does everybody keep saying that?” Naruto began irritably, scowling at nothing in particular.  “I’ve only been gone for a few hours.  Oh, and how’d you get your face put on the monument so fast; was it some kind of jutsu?”

Tsunade froze in the middle of a pen stroke, and it was only then that Naruto believed something really was wrong.  Her gaze lifted to see him standing there, looking tired but very much alive, with a large fiery bird perched contentedly on his shoulder.  Her lips parted in a wordless question, closed again, then opened after a deep breath and a quick composing of herself.  “Naruto, you’ve been gone for three weeks.  Sasuke, Hinata, and Team Gai returned to the village and relayed what happened back in mid-October.  It’s now the first week of November.”

Naruto could only stare, his mouth working for a response – any response.  It just wouldn’t come.  Jiraiya had warned them about the risks associated with the Hiraishin; had he truly been transported into the future on accident?  It hadn’t been among the possibilities that the Sannin had listed, but he had also noted that it was unpredictable.  It was messing with the space-time continuum, after all, and that meant that time would obviously be included in possible mishaps – or applications.  He had managed to not only to miss his target by hundreds of kilometers, but he had also missed his target timeby several _weeks._ A chill ran up his spine at that realization.  He truly understood what Jiraiya had meant by the jutsu being dangerous, and Kurama had been right: he had gotten lucky.

“But you’re alive,” Tsunade continued, watching Naruto closely, “And you seem unharmed, although I expect your chakra reserves are depleted – again.”  She smiled then, and her eyes twinkled a little in the faint lamplight.  He idly wondered if that was a trait inherited by every Hokage.  “I know a few people who will be more than pleased to see you, and I suggest you get going to greet them.”

“I will,” Naruto said slowly, his head still spinning at the new revelation.  But Tsunade was right; he was back now, and that’s what really mattered.  “Thank you, Tsunade-sama.  Is Hinata . . . Is she . . .?”

“Hinata’s fine,” she replied, smirking a little before stifling a yawn.  “It was wise of you to utilize the jutsu you did to save her, rather than risk both of your lives with the Hiraishin.  She sustained a concussion and some minor internal damage, but she was able to leave the hospital after only a few days.”  Naruto breathed a sigh of relief at that, and Tsunade tilted her head to one side and peered curiously at Huang.  “By the way . . . When did you get a pet?”

“Oh, sorry.  This is Huang-san, the daughter of Feng-sama, who’s The Ancient Fire or something.  I landed on his volcano last night, and he wanted me to sign a contract since I’ve died once, I guess.  So I guess I’m kinda friends with the phoenixes now, although I feel like there are only two of them.”  He glanced at Huang, who tilted her head at him before nodding once.  “Yep, two.  Huang-san is supposed to follow me around, or at least Feng-sama said so.  She made it easier to see on my way back.”  Huang crooned and looked generally pleased with herself, at least as much as a bird could.  Tsunade, though, looked stunned enough that one might think she had just won a game of dice.  Her eyes were a little wide and glued to the phoenix, and her mouth was hanging slightly open.

“I ah . . . I see . . .” she coughed after a time, once again having to compose herself.  _This boy never ceases to surprise me.  Of all the contracts he could have found, for it to be phoenixes . . ._ Tsunade shook her head, the amused smile returning to her features.  “Well, we can discuss this more later.  Right now, I think it’s more important that you get home and let everyone know that you’re okay.  Report back here this evening so that I can get your full report of your part in the kidnapping, as well as what happened after you disappeared.”

“Will do, Tsunade-sama.  Thanks again!” he called back, already halfway to the door.

“Oh, Iruka has since moved . . .” She trailed off and rolled her eyes.  Naruto was already gone.  “You’ll figure it out,” she sighed, going back to her work with another shake of her head.  Still, she couldn’t keep the smirk from tugging at the corners of her lips.  _He is something else._

* * *

 As much as he wanted to head straight home, Sasuke’s apartment was close to the academy, and it was only right to stop by and explain what had happened.  He landed at the building’s entrance and tugged at the door, only to find it locked tight.  He made a face and leapt upwards, jumping between balconies until he arrived at the right one.  Without preamble he rapped on the sliding glass door a few times, waiting until a light came on inside.  A very sleepy-looking Haku appeared at the door, blinking blearily through the glass before his eyes snapped open wide.

“Naruto-kun!” he cried, tearing open the door and flinging himself at the blond.  Naruto had work to keep his balance as the older boy hit him with a rib-cracking hug.

“Hey, Haku,” Naruto sputtered, trying to pry him off and laughing a little while doing so.  “It’s good to see you, too, but I guess it’s a little different from your end.”  Haku stepped back and raised a curious eyebrow, though he was still beaming.

“I’m not sure what you mean, but – oh, Sasuke!  Sasuke, Naruto-kun’s back!” Haku yelled through the door.  Sasuke was at the door in under two seconds, although he still managed to make it look casual.  His hair was a little disheveled, and he was just wearing a black t-shirt and shorts, but he looked wide awake.

“It’s about time, you damned idiot,” he growled, stalking the last few steps to his friend and landing a solid punch on Naruto’s shoulder.  The blond grinned fiercely and returned the blow, then was surprised when Sasuke pulled him into a quick one-armed hug.  “If you keep doing reckless shit like that, I swear I’ll kill you myself one day.”

“It really has been three weeks, hasn’t it?” Naruto sighed, scratching behind one ear as his friend withdrew.  Sasuke raised an eyebrow in a very similar manner to Haku, and so Naruto told them.  He kept it brief, not wanting to wait too dawdle there too long.  The explanation of what had gone wrong with the Hiraishin was simple enough to relay, but the meeting with Feng took a bit of embellishing.  It took nearly twenty minutes to finish, and by the end of it both older boys were seated and shaking their heads.

“You’re lucky to have landed so close, in both space _and_ time,” Sasuke muttered.

“That’s what Kurama said,” Naruto agreed, though he shrugged and glanced at Huang, who was now perched contentedly on the balcony’s railing.  “But I guess it wasn’t all bad, considering the contract.  Who would have thought that dying would help me out one day?”  Despite everything that had happened, Sasuke found himself smirking, and Haku let out a little giggle.  Naruto was back, after all; why shouldn’t they be happy?  “Anyway, you guys can come with me when I report to Tsunade-sama tomorrow and hear all about it.  Right now, though, I need to get home.”

“Oh, Iruka-sensei and Hinata moved into a new apartment while you were gone,” Sasuke said as they stood, nodding towards the south.  “It’s the building right behind Ichiraku, funny enough.  Top floor, Unit Eleven.  Here, one sec.”  He disappeared into the apartment then, leaving Naruto confused in his wake.  They had talked about moving a few weeks before – in the time period Naruto knew, anyway – but he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.  Iruka probably had a good reason for it, though.  Sasuke returned a moment later and flicked a small key at him.  “Hinata gave me a key for emergencies, and I think this counts as one.  Just get it back to me whenever.”

“Thanks, Sasuke.” Naruto extended his fist, and Sasuke rapped his knuckles in response.  “I’ll see you both tomorrow – lunch is at Ichiraku, on me!”  He grinned at the pair before jumping onto the railing and diving off, heading towards his new home in the pale light of an approaching dawn.

* * *

 Naruto wasn’t surprised to find Iruka gone when he slipped into the apartment.  It was the middle of the week, and the instructor always woke extremely early to arrive at the academy with enough time to prepare his lessons.  He scanned around briefly, finding a note addressed to Hinata on the counter.

_I know you’ll be out all day again, so be safe and do your best for Naruto.  I was thinking about inviting everyone out for barbeque tonight, so make sure you work up an appetite!_

_\- Iruka_

That got Naruto smiling a little; he was glad that things seemed to be okay, at least.  He moved silently down the hall, Huang gliding by his side like a bright, weightless spectre.  The first door he opened to find an empty bedroom, although it very clearly wasn’t his.  The crème-colored bed sheets looked new, as did the plush violet comforter atop them.  He closed the door after spying a bra and pair of panties lying atop the dresser – _definitely_ not his room.  The next door opened into a bathroom, complete with sinks and a bathing area, and had doors on either side that presumably led into the adjoining bedrooms.

Naruto opened the last door on the right very slowly, and immediately recognized many of the things that had been in his old room.  His heart skipped a beat when his eyes fell upon the bed, where a familiar green blanket was wrapped around a small, trembling form.  He slipped inside without making a sound, tentatively approaching the bed with his breath caught in his throat.  Naruto leaned down very slowly, easing the blanket back enough to glimpse Hinata’s face.  The sight made him ache to the core of his being.

She seemed peaceful enough in sleep, but the sheets under her head were stained dark from the aftermath of far too many tears.  Her nose was a little red, covered like her cheeks with salty streaks leftover from hours of mourning.  Her brow knitted slightly when the blanket was pulled back, but she only shivered and tried to tug it back up.

It struck Naruto then just how hard it must have been for everybody.  What had been less than a day for him had been a nightmarish three weeks for those that knew him, and Hinata most of all.  He had been in such a hurry to get back that, even after being told about the time lapse, he hadn’t considered the impact that his vanishing would have on those close to him.  He tried to imagine how he might feel if Hinata had just . . . disappeared.  It was hard to even think about, and she had lived through it for weeks.

He crawled onto the bed beside Hinata, careful not to disturb her.  He didn’t try to get under the blanket, instead just moving close and putting his arms around her.  She murmured something unintelligible in her fitful slumber, reacting to his warmth and pressing in against his chest.  Naruto smiled, settling down and placing a light kiss on her forehead.  Hinata let out contented sigh, and her quivering gradually ceased.  She wouldn’t know the reason until she woke, but that night’s sleep would be the best in recent memory.

Huang watched the young couple for a few minutes, her head turning this way and that as if intrigued.  She hovered a meter off the ground, her wings unfurled but not beating to keep her aloft.  After a time the phoenix glided over to the unused pillow at the end of the bed, settling down with her beautiful plumage spread behind her.  The fire didn’t so much as singe the linens, and the pillow barely even compressed under her bodyweight.

The morning sunlight spilled out across Konoha as they slept, bathing the village in warm splendor that fought away the night’s chill.  There were no enemies lurking nearby ready to steal away their peace, no dark forces ready to pounce the moment they allowed themselves to rest.  Their world was quiet for now, and they could sleep without fear of another tragic tomorrow.  They had earned that much, at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks – it’s been a minute!
> 
> There’s no real definitive end to one arc and the next in this story, but the current storyline is coming to a close between this and the next chapter. From here we slow down a little to recoup from the craziness that was the last ~30k words and get ready for the rescheduled Chūnin Exam, which hopefully won’t be interrupted by giant snakes!
> 
> Note for Ye Olde English snobs here: Feng’s dialect is based off of Middle English, and when I say it’s based off of it, it’s based off of it. I am not an authority on the subject, but I did my best to use it as a literary tool to convey his age and the idea that immortals can be more naturally stubborn to change. So if there are errors in my Middle English verb conjugations or there’s a ‘thy’ where there should be a ‘thine,’ please forgive my slight. =P
> 
> Many thanks to you all for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing as always. My drive to continue writing this story comes from those that have a desire to read and share it, so it is as much your creation as it is mine. Speaking of which: shout-out to the guy/gal that shared CFKD on the Naruto fanfiction subreddit. You know who you are, and you’re awesome. A special thanks to Rhi for editing this chapter for me, and for doing a wonderful job as always.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> Wes


	26. A Kindling Alliance

Naruto coughed as he stumbled around within the cloud of debris, rubbing at his eyes to clear away both the dust and sleepiness.  Something ceramic crunched beneath his foot – a piece of shower tile, maybe?  A bruise would doubtless form on his lower back from where it had broken the sink into a hundred pieces, but that was one of his lesser concerns for the time being.  A melodious avian cry rang through the apartment after a moment, followed by a gust of wind that cleared the haze away in an instant.  He was left blinking rapidly through a vaguely Naruto-shaped hole in the wall; Huang hovered on the other side, her head tilted in a silent question.

“Thanks Huang-san,” he breathed, adding after a second of ‘listening’ to her, “Yeah, I’m fine, and no – I don’t think she meant to do that.”  The phoenix cocked her head to the other side before gliding over to him, settling down to perch on his shoulder.

“Naruto . . .?” Hinata appeared where Huang had been, her eyes wide and filled with tears.  But wariness and fear had found their way in as well, and she made no further move towards him.  Instead she merely stared for several long seconds, taking in Naruto’s disheveled appearance and that of his new companion.  “Is it really . . . A-are you really here?”

“It’s me, Hinata,” he said with a broad grin, spreading his arms.  “Can’tcha tell?”  She shook her head, not willing to be tricked.  If it was an enemy looking to prey on her distress, it wasn’t going to happen.

“What’s your least favorite food?” she asked suddenly.  Naruto raised an eyebrow, then made a face at her.

“Uncooked vegetables – and most even if they are cooked.”  
“What’s the name of your prisoner?”  
“Kurama, and he’s my _partner_.”  
“How did we first meet?”  
“You, me, and Sasuke teamed up in that group sparring match back in our first year at the academy.”  
“What sometimes happens when we kiss?”  
“I ah . . . accidentally bite your lip with my fangs.”  
“What . . . What do you always say to me before we go on a mission?”  
“Be safe.”

Hinata was struggling to maintain her composure now, and had already stepped most of the way through the gap in the wall.  She reached out towards his face as she approached, but hesitated a few centimeters away.  She bit her lower lip and closed her eyes before asking the last question.  “W-what did you tell me . . . when you woke up in the h-hospital after Suna attacked?”  There was no doubt in her mind that it was really Naruto when he grinned, but she waited for the answer regardless.

“That I love you, silly.”  Naruto – and it really _was_ Naruto – reached up and put a hand on her shoulder, looking her directly in the eyes and smiling that brilliant, goofy smile that he always did.  “It’s me, Hinata.  I promise.”

Words weren’t at all sufficient to express the overflow of emotions that took hold of Hinata at that moment.  She choked on a sob and flung herself forward with enough force to knock Naruto back into the remains of the sink and to the ground, wrapping her arms around his waist so tightly that it seemed she would never let go.

“W-where have you b-been?” Hinata cried, burying her face into his shirt.  “I-it’s been three weeks, and – and I . . . W-we searched for you, b-but I–” There were too many questions to voice, and she wanted to ask them all at once.  Naruto wrapped his arms around her, not sure what else he could do.  To him it had been only a day, but after talking to Tsunade, Sasuke, and Haku, he knew that it had actually been much longer than that.  “And what . . . W-what is that?”  She sniffed a few times before lifting her head to stare up at his shoulder, Huang’s flickering plumage reflecting in her teary eyes.

“Well, it’s kind of a crazy story . . .” Naruto began.

It took a little while to explain what had happened, from when he had leapt off of the cliff to save her until he had returned the night before.  It had all flown past so quickly on his end that he was able to finish the explanation in half an hour – though that was longer than it had taken to tell Sasuke and Haku.  Hinata needed all of the details, he felt.  Her tears were dry by the time he finished, although she hadn’t moved to get up.  After three long weeks of searching and despairing, any distance between them was too much.

“Only a day . . .” Hinata sighed, snuggled a little closer, and then took a deep, steadying breath.  She smelled a lot of dust, ash, and a bit of sulfur, but underneath it all was Naruto.  For the first time in weeks she felt relief and contentment, as if simply by being close again he had lifted some invisible weight from her mind.  “We have a lot to catch up on, but . . . you’re back.  That’s what matters right now.”  She slowly pushed herself back up, lifting her face towards his and unashamedly pressing into a fierce kiss, one that she’d been subconsciously saving for when he returned.  After a moment of surprise he returned it, only to wince a few seconds in.

“Sorry . . .” he murmured.  Hinata only laughed softly before licking the blood from her lower lip.

“Don’t be,” she cooed, resting her head against his chest again.  “I missed that about you, too.”  They lay there together for a time, neither speaking nor moving, instead simply catching up on time lost.  After a few minutes, Hinata blinked and lifted her head abruptly.  “Have you told Iruka-sensei or Kakashi-sensei that you’re back yet?”  Naruto blinked gave her a sheepish grin.

“Ah . . . Not yet.  I sort of wanted to get back to see you first.” That caused a light blush to spring to her cheeks, but she still clicked her tongue and pushed herself up, taking Naruto’s hand and dragging him with her.

“Well come on!” Her mood had transitioned rapidly from extreme apprehension, to relief, and finally to overjoyed.  The young Hyūga was glowing.

“Shouldn’t we clean up around here?” he asked, glancing around at the wreckage.  Hinata blinked, then appeared to take in their surroundings for the first time.  Her blush grew gradually into a bright flush as her lips started to move wordlessly.  It took a few seconds to get anything out, but she seemed pretty flustered when it finally did.

“We . . . We probably should,” she said faintly.  She turned back to her boyfriend with a piteous, exhortingly apologetic look in her eyes.  “I’m so sorry, Naruto.  I didn’t mean to push you like that, I promise!  I was just so shocked and I panicked and just moved automatically and – oh, what is Iruka-sensei going to think?  We only just moved in and now I’ve–”

“Hinata,” Naruto laughed, putting his hands on her shoulders and pulling her into a hug.  “It’s okay.  I know it was an accident, and Iruka-sensei isn’t going to hold it against you.  It was my fault for surprising you, anyway.”  Huang clucked her agreement from his shoulder.  Hinata took another deep breath and nodded, trying to settle the myriad of thoughts and emotions flying around in her head.

“Okay . . . Thank you, Naruto.”  Hinata looked up and met his gaze, giving him an excited smile made all the more dazzling by her beautiful, shimmering eyes.  “And welcome home.”

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Stopping by the academy to see Iruka caused a lot more commotion than Naruto had expected.  As he and Hinata passed people in the streets, most startled expressions rapidly turned sour; it seemed that there were many who weren’t glad to see him back.  There were a handful of individuals that smiled at the pair, though, enough that Naruto was genuinely surprised.  According to Hinata, a good number of people had expressed concern to either her or one of their friends while he had been gone.  The attitudes of some were changing, although it was a slow process.

Iruka nearly broke down in front of his class when the couple arrived at his door unannounced.  He managed to muster the grace to step out before pulling Naruto into a suffocating bear hug.  They could both tell that the chūnin was doing his best not to cry, but Hinata especially could see the unshed tears threatening to overflow.  She had seen him holding back for far too long.  It took some convincing, but Naruto managed to assure Iruka that they would _both_ be back for dinner.

“Welcome back, Naruto,” a familiar voice called from a nearby.  Hinata and Naruto stopped as they exited the academy, standing together in the shade of a lone tree that hosted a single swing.  She laced her fingers between his and squeezed, and he grinned.

“Hey Kakashi-sensei, and . . . Sasuke, Haku?” Naruto asked, turning his gaze up towards the tree branches.  Sure enough, their teacher sat lounging against the trunk on a high bough, only just lowering his book to look down at his students.  He vanished and reappeared in front of them, with Haku and Sasuke landing on either side of him a second later.

“These two briefed me on what happened.  It’s a good thing you didn’t get sent too far into the future, or else you might have missed the rescheduled Chūnin Exams.” His smirk couldn’t be hidden completely by the mask.  Naruto grinned, although the expression dwindled quickly.  Something had been bothering him all morning.

“Sensei, I don’t really understand what happened.  Jiraiya-sensei said that things like this could happen if the jutsu isn’t done right, but . . . I don’t feel like any time passed.” He wrinkled his nose, still trying to wrap his head around the idea that he had traveled through time, if only for a brief period.  “My hair didn’t grow any, and I fell on Feng-sama’s volcano right after I teleported.  How could three weeks have passed for everybody else if only a day did for me?  And does that mean that–”

“Naruto,” Kakashi interjected, holding up a hand and shaking his head.  “I could answer your questions with only observational assumptions and guesses, but I don’t have any real answers for you.  Jiraiya would be able to give you better explanations than I could.  For now, I would avoid using that technique until he says you’re ready.”  Naruto blinked, but nodded.  It felt a little strange that Kakashi hadn’t _told_ him not to use it, but rather suggested that he don’t.  “Good.  Let’s head to the Hokage’s office now; Tsunade-sama is expecting us.”

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Detailing the events – again – took about as long as it had that morning, but it would hopefully be the second-to-last time he would need to.  Iruka deserved a full story as well.  Naruto and his team all stood together in front of Tsunade’s desk, listening intently while he spoke about the mountain, his meeting with Feng, and the journey back to Konoha.  Following his tale, Tsunade took a moment to fill him in on the fallout in regards to the Sound Five, and she also handed him a paper voucher.

“A hundred and fifty thousand ryō?!” Naruto balked, eyes widening when he saw the amount.  “What for?!”

“Kimimaro Kaguya was listed in the Hidden Mist’s Bingo Book, with a bounty of just over a million ryō.  Each of your teammates – and Haku – received the same amount, as did each member of Team Gai.  Technically, the bounty should have been split between just the six of them, but they insisted it be given equally to all seven.”  She shrugged and leaned back in her chair, a little smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.  “You’ve got some loyal friends, Naruto.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty much the best,” he confirmed, squeezing Hinata’s hand and winking sideways at Sasuke and Haku.

“Well, since you’re all here,” Tsunade continued, rummaging through a few stacks of papers on her desk, “I’m sure that Kakashi has informed you, but the Chūnin Exam is a little less than a month away now, and he has recommended that all three of you retake it.”  Naruto quirked an eyebrow and glanced up at his instructor.

“You recommended me?” he asked curiously.  Kakashi shrugged.

“I figured you’d want to take the exam if you got back in time for it.  Was I wrong?”

“No!  But . . . You really believed I would be back?” The jōnin smiled knowingly, the expression seen only in his visible eye, and his other students did as well.

“We all knew you’d come back, Naruto.”  The blond beamed up at him, rubbing behind his head with one hand in a sheepish manner.  He didn’t really know what to say to that, but he felt warm appreciation for his friends blossoming inside of him.

“Warm fuzzies will need to wait for later,” Tsunade cut in, although she was smirking as well.  “Naruto and Sasuke, you are both allowed to bypass the first exam based on your ranking in the previous one.  The village leaders have unanimously agreed that all contestants that made it to the third stage are eligible for this.” The boys in question felt positively about it for all of an instant before they realized the omitted detail: Hinata was part of their team and hadn’t made it to the third stage.

“Hinata,” she continued, glancing down at a piece of paper.  “You were among those that were selected from the preliminaries to be given the same option, based on your performance against Neji.”

“But Tsunade-sama,” Hinata began, clearly confused at the turn of events, “I lost the match against my cousin.”

“That’s true,” Tsunade conceded, “But chūnin are not selected based on winning and losing.  You came close to defeating an opponent that was stronger than you, through sheer determination and intellectual aptitude.  As a matter of fact, if I recall correctly you only lost because you refused to deal a fatal blow to your opponent.  Is that correct?” Hinata hesitated, but gave a reluctant nod after a moment.

“I can’t say for certain, but . . . I think that if I had risked killing Neji-nīsan, I might have won the match, yes.”

“As we suspected,” the Hokage nodded.  “That was the main reason that we granted you an exception.  Do not forget, Hinata: being a shinobi isn’t about succeeding at all costs.  It’s about finding the best solution in any given circumstance, and I would argue that your decision in this instance was for the best, even if it did cost you entrance to the final exam.”  Hinata wasn’t sure what to say at first.  After some fidgeting and flushing, she bowed low and spoke graciously.

“Thank you, Tsunade-sama.”

“That’s all the business I have for you.  Now, if you’ll–”

“Ano, Tsunade-sama?” Naruto started, causing the woman to blink herself into silence.  “What happened with Gaara?”  Her expression darkened, and she sat back with her arms folded.

“Nothing,” she said flatly.  “He hasn’t said a word in the last three weeks – not to anybody.  Attempts to get information out of him have been fruitless.  For now he is still our prisoner, and his siblings are our guests.  They are allowed to visit him once a day, but Gaara hasn’t spoken to them either.”  Naruto frowned, adding to his increasingly troubled look.

“Do you think I could go see him?” he asked hopefully.  He expected Tsunade to deny him flat out, but she surprised him.

“If you’d like,” she responded evenly, rifling through some more papers until she found one she was looking for.  She scribbled a quick signature on it and held it out.  “I had a feeling you’d want to, and had this prepared just in case.  It’ll get you into the lower levels of this tower and into the high security cell block – with an escort, of course.”

“Thanks.” Naruto took the paper and folded it into his pocket.  “Where are Temari and Kankurō staying?  I think I want to talk to them first.”

“They have a suite in the Maple Leaf Inn just down the street.  I hear that they don’t leave much, so you might be able to see them now.”

“Thank you, Tsunade-sama,” Kakashi intoned, bowing with his students.  She nodded and dismissed them, swiveling in her chair to look out the window after they had departed.

“Shizune,” she sighed.  Her summoned attendant phased into the room through one of the bookcases, carrying her pet pig Tonton.  “Did you get all of that?”

“Yes, Tsunade-sama.  What do you make of it?”

“It certainly seems like Naruto, especially if Hinata is convinced; she and Iruka know him best, after all.  But . . . just to make sure, have an ANBU agent watch him until I can speak to Iruka.  There’s no reason to throw caution to the wind, especially with all that’s happened to them recently.”

“Yes, Tsunade-sama.” Shizune turned to leave, but Tsunade caught her with a last query, one with a pointedly sly tone to it.

“Oh, and speaking of Iruka . . .”

“I don’t think _now_ is the appropriate time for that!” Shizune replied, clearly flustered by her superior’s suggestion.  “Naruto’s only just gotten back, and – and there’s no need to rush things!”  Tsunade chuckled and waved her hand.

“Maybe later, then.”

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“Oh, you’re alive,” Kankurō muttered through the cracked door.  He opened it fully and stepped aside for Team Seven to enter, though he didn’t seem too happy to see them.  “Temari,” he called.  “That kid’s here finally.”

“Naruto-kun, right?” Temari stepped out from a door just down the hall, and Naruto and Sasuke both felt heat rise in their cheeks.  The older girl stood at the center of the hallway, one hand holding up her damp hair while the other retrieved hair pins held between her lips to fix into the blonde locks.  She wore absolutely nothing outside of a plain white towel, fastened tightly just above her bosom and barely reaching down to her upper thigh.  Her tanned skin glistened with droplets of water, still clinging from a presumed bath.

“Er . . . Yeah . . .” Naruto mumbled dopily.  Hinata was flushed a bright red as well, but it wasn’t nearly for the same reasons that the boys were.  She kept flicking her eyes back and forth between Naruto and the other girl, as if unable to decide what to do while feeling the need to do _something_.  The poor Hyūga had no idea why her chest had suddenly gone hot, and she didn’t particularly like the feelings she was experiencing.

“We came to talk to you about Gaara,” Sasuke put in finally, managing to take his eyes off of the luscious sixteen-year-old to spare a glance at his friend.  He knew immediately what was going through Hinata’s mind.  He dug an elbow into Naruto’s ribs with little in the way of remorse, snapping the blond out of his daze.  “And yeah, this oaf is back.  Put some clothes on, and we can talk.”  Temari quirked an eyebrow at the Uchiha, but only pretended to simper before turning to saunter back into the bathroom, swaying her hips a bit more than was likely necessary.

“Conceited bitch,” Kankurō muttered as the trio came in, almost sounding as if he was apologizing.  “Going on a month cooped up in here with her, and it gets worse every day.”

“A-aren’t you two siblings?” Hinata asked, still trying to shake the odd emotions away.  Naruto gave her a sidelong look, undoubtedly a result of her stutter.  She scolded herself inwardly, visibly calming after a few seconds.  A few weeks of her boyfriend missing was no excuse to have emotional swings.

“Yeah . . . and?”  He sighed and slumped down to sit on one of the two beds occupying their standard hotel room.  “By the way, weren’t you dead?” he asked bluntly, turning a quizzical eye on Naruto.

“It’s a long story,” he responded shortly, taking a seat opposite the older boy.

“You can drop the friendly act,” Sasuke commented dryly.  “We haven’t forgotten that you and your village tried to kill us, or that you succeeded in murdering a good number of people.”  Kankurō grimaced, but before he could reply Temari stepped out from the washroom again, this time fully clothed.

“All of that was done on the Kazekage’s orders.  Or rather, on what we _thought_ were the Kazekage’s orders.  You should know the story by now.” She sat down beside her brother and crossed her legs, folding her hands in her lap before winking at Naruto.  “Well, perhaps not you, cutie.”  Naruto blinked and raised an eyebrow, more curious about what she was talking about than her lattermost statement.  Hinata felt that odd heat building in the pit of her stomach again, but she ignored it.  “Orochimaru took advantage of Suna’s poor economic status and manipulated us into invading Konoha.  Before we arrived here, he killed our father – the Yondaime Kazakage – and took his place.  Most of us didn’t want to take part in the plan in the first place.”

“You seemed pretty willing during the exam,” Naruto countered, stuck between feeling sorry for them and being angry with her nonchalance.  Her dad had been killed, and she didn’t even seem fazed.

“Never let your enemies read your thoughts,” Temari shrugged.  “I wasn’t about to hesitate with the rest of our forces putting their lives on the line.  I wanted to leave, but . . .”

“Gaara,” Kankurō finished for her.  She nodded, and let him continue.  “It was our father’s plan to use him as the centerpiece of the assault.  He was . . . He was an alright kid growing up.  He didn’t have any friends, really, but he had us.  But one day our uncle Yashamaru, under orders from the Kazekage, tried to kill him.  We’re not really sure of the details, but . . . He changed that day.  He carved the symbol for ‘love’ into his forehead with the sand, and ever since he’s been darker, more withdrawn, and . . .”

“Scarier by the minute,” Temari breathed in closing.  She shook her head and folded her arms.  “Shukaku’s influence has been growing, and we all know it.  We think it was our father’s plan all along, to turn our younger brother into a sociopathic killing machine.”  Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but Hinata beat him to it; she had seen the confused look on his face.

“Why would his own father want him to be isolated and devoid of a moral conscience?” Naruto flashed an appreciative smile at her for the explanation of the word, but already his hands were balling into fists.

“He would have done it to one of us if he could have,” Temari nearly spat.  “We weren’t compatible with the Ichibi, and so he had it sealed into Gaara while he was still in the womb.  He didn’t want a child; all he wanted was a weapon.”

They understood now why the two siblings spoke so dismissively about the Kazekage.  Naruto felt over a decade of resentment boiling up inside of him, but he wouldn’t let it out here.  Hinata put her hand over his, and Sasuke nudged his arm on the other side.  Those two simple actions washed away the anger, and he found himself smiling faintly.  Huang – still perched on his shoulder – let out a soft crooning sound, as if she was also trying to contribute.

**_Yes, you could consider yourself lucky,_** Kurama put in.  **_There aren’t many humans like your guardian in the world, nor others like your friends that accept you despite my presence.  Even so, I doubt any of that would have made a difference for Gaara._**

_What do you mean?  Why not?_

**_Shukaku is arrogant, and he delights in killing.  Even before becoming captured by the Hidden Sand, he sought out and slaughtered humans for sport.  I described him as mad before, and although it is a fitting description, it is not wholly accurate.  He is cunning, and though the weakest of the nine bijū, he is still strong._ **

_I get all of that,_ Naruto responded impatiently, ignoring the odd looks he was getting from the two opposite him.  Hinata and Sasuke frequently told him that he always got a vacant expression on his face when speaking to Kurama.  _But why wouldn’t real friends have helped Gaara?_

**_Because of Shukaku’s personality,_** the Fox sighed, as if it were obvious.  **_And I suspect partially due to his seal.  Minato designed your seal as a means to cut me off from you, but to also allow you limited access to my chakra.  Whoever sealed Shukaku was either not as skilled as your father, or purposefully allowed the tanuki access to Gaara’s mind.  You’ve met the Ichibi; imagine having that in your head all the time growing up._** Naruto thought about it, and shivered.

“Kur—ah, the Kyūbi thinks it’s probably Gaara’s seal that’s the problem.  It might have been designed to let Shukaku influence him.” Sasuke and Hinata nodded thoughtfully, but Temari and Kankurō only stared at him for a few seconds before blurting out a scandalized question.

“You talk to that thing?!” they demanded in unison.  Naruto shrugged.

“Yeah, we get along okay.  We worked things out about four months ago.” He stopped, thought about it for a second, and then amended his statement.  “Er, actually five months ago now.”

**_Did I mention that you’re also lucky that I’m so reasonable?_ **

_Shut up._

“Well . . .” Kankurō started, eyeing Naruto with a bit of uncertainty.  “We’ve talked about it a few times now, but even if that is the case, it doesn’t help us.  Gaara’s locked up, doesn’t want to see anybody, and I doubt there’s anyone skilled enough with fūinjutsu to fix his seal.”

“Sure there is.  I bet Jiraiya-sensei would do it.” Again the siblings blinked at him, their eyes going a bit wide.

“Jiraiya?  As in one of the legendary Sannin?   _He_ is your sensei?” Temari shook her head and slumped back.  “No wonder you kids are so strong.”

“We’re strong because we trained ourselves to be strong,” Sasuke said tersely.  “We’ve had great teachers, but in the end it’s up to the student to excel.”

“And we’ve always had each other,” Hinata offered, receiving nods from her teammates.  “I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without Sasuke and Naruto.”  _In more ways than one,_ she thought absently.

“Why don’t we go see Gaara now?” Naruto stood up and glanced to his shoulder.  “Huang-san, can you go find Jiraiya-sensei for me?  I’d start looking near the hot springs and bathhouses.  If he’s not there, try any place that serves alcohol.”  Huang dipped her head by way of acknowledgement before promptly vanishing in a flash of flame.

“Jinchūriki to a friendly bijū, studies under a Sannin, has a freaking phoenix pet . . .” Kankurō shook his head, unable to stop himself from smirking.  “Really, Temari; who is this kid?”

“I told you not to forget my name,” Naruto replied, though he was grinning back at the older boy.  “Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!”

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“Pesky bird . . .” Jiraiya muttered, rubbing at a tender, hand-shaped area on his cheek.  “Could have waited until I was finished writing.” Huang hissed at the old man from Naruto’s shoulder, but made no further ‘comment.’

“I asked her to get you, sensei,” the blond remarked, standing from the bench just outside of the hotel.  “Sorry she interrupted your . . . stuff . . . but this is important.”

“Good to see you too, kid.  Now what do you want?”

Naruto explained the situation as succinctly as he could, with Sasuke and Hinata pitching in here and there.  By the end of it, Jiraiya had his arms folded and brow furrowed.  He glanced around for a few seconds before offering a reply.

“Where are the emissaries?”

“Temari and Kankurō?  They went on ahead to let Gaara know we’re coming.”

“That _we’re_ coming, huh?” Jiraiya clicked his tongue and rubbed at his stubbled chin, thinking.  “Well, I _can_ do it – probably, but I’d need to get the kid’s permission, as well as Tsunade’s.  There’s also the possibility that Shukaku could force his way out as a defensive mechanism if we’re not careful, and even if we are it’s still a risk.” He tilted his head to one side, studying the three genin for a few moments.  “What makes you want to fix him so bad?”

“It’s not _fixing_ him,” Naruto said before the other two could even think to respond.  “It’s helping.  He’s just like me, only he had to go through more crap than I did growing up.”

“He isn’t just like you,” Jiraiya snapped, his tone frosty enough to take them aback.  “Naruto, I know you feel like you share an odd kinship with Gaara, but your similarities end with the circumstances of your births.  He may be a jinchūriki as well, but that doesn’t mean that sealing the Ichibi away is going to make him a different person.  If he is beyond recovery, he’ll likely be executed, and the bijū will be sealed inside of a different host.  All three of you will need to come to terms with that.”

“And if he isn’t?” Hinata asked after several seconds of tense silence.  “What happens if he’s okay?”

“That decision will rest with Tsunade, although I don’t foresee her executing Suna’s impotent jinchūriki.  He’ll probably be used as a substantial bargaining chip in negotiations for a peace treaty, if I had to guess.”

**_The boy will be far from impotent even with the most advanced sealing technique,_** Kurama growled.  He sounded more annoyed than usual.  **_We bijū value our continued existence as fiercely as any other.  Shukaku would not allow his container to be left defenseless, one way or another._** _**He would find a way.**_

_You’re creepy sometimes._ Aloud, Naruto directed his attention back to Jiraiya.  “Alright, I understand.  Will you do it, then?”

“I need to discuss it with Tsunade first, but . . . I’ll do what I can.”  It was a noncommittal answer, but it was all the Sage was willing to give for the time being.  “Before we go, however, I need to make something clear to you three.” Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata stopped mid-stride, blinking up at him curiously.  Jiraiya extended a hand towards Naruto’s forehead and struck his hitai-ate with a sharp flick.  The minor blow caused the youth to stagger back and fall onto the bench, although he was back on his feet in an instant.

“What was that for?!” Naruto demanded, rubbing at his brow just below the headband.  Before he was allowed to get genuinely angry, Jiraiya pulled him into a quick one-armed hug.

“For almost dying, you stupid kid.  I’m your godfather, remember?” He released Naruto and shook his head.  “I realize that you thought it was necessary to use the Hiraishin – and maybe it was.  From what I heard, you wouldn’t have had much time to think of an alternative.  Regardless . . .” The Sage narrowed his eyes and allowed his chakra to surge for only a second, the force of it enough to push the trio backwards and down onto their seats again.  “I want all three of you to give me your word that you will _not_ use the Hiraishin until I say you can.”

“But–” Sasuke began, but Jiraiya cut in before he could get another word out.

“No.  There will be no excuses, and there will be no exceptions.  I’ve told you how dangerous that jutsu is.  Naruto could easily have ended up dead in innumerable ways.  He could have ended up in the deepest part of the ocean, instantly crushed by the pressure.  He could have ended up on the moon, only to have to wait for the lack of oxygen to kill him while he slowly lost consciousness.  He could have ended up _inside_ of that volcano instead of on top of it.  There are many more ways that one can die using the Hiraishin than to live.”  He let the sharp words sink in for a few seconds before turning his tone more docile again.  “So until I say that you may try it – which will be under my strict supervision _only_ – none of you will attempt the technique again.  Understood?”

“Not to be um – Not to be impudent, Jiraiya-sensei, but . . . How would you know if we used it or not?” Hinata asked tentatively.

“Yeah, and what could you really do if we decided to keep using it?” Naruto put in.  Jiraiya hit him with a stare that could have turned milk sour.  The blond paled, and added quickly, “N-n-not that we would, of course!”

“You each have a simple tracing jutsu on you, and I’ll be able to tell if you move from one place to another – or outside of the area that I can sense – faster than you ought to.” Three pairs of eyes widened, then immediately began scanning every bit of exposed skin looking for jutsu-shiki.

“When did you . . .?” Naruto ventured, wondering if the old man was just lying to them.  Sasuke sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in agitation, and Hinata only looked dismayed.

“When he knocked us back with his chakra,” the Uchiha grumbled, folding his arms.

“That’s right, and if I find out that any of you have used the Hiraishin without my permission, I’ll apply a seal that won’t allow you to use it or any other space-time ninjutsu.  _Ever._ ”  Their expressions ranged from distressed to indignant, but nobody put up any further arguments.  They had a feeling that the Sage wasn’t messing around.

“We hadn’t planned to use it anyway,” Naruto mumbled, finally standing with his friends.  “Can we go now?”  Jiraiya only nodded once before turning towards the Hokage’s tower, and the young trio followed a few steps behind.  “What a jerk . . .”

“Seriously,” Sasuke muttered.  “Could’ve just told us not to use it.”

“He’s worried about us,” Hinata whispered.  “I think it’s just his way of making sure we’re safe.” Her friends shrugged, although they both nodded begrudgingly after a moment.  Hinata was seldom wrong when it came to interpreting others’ intentions.

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I want to be able to use my dad’s jutsu as soon as I can.” Naruto’s eyes travelled up over the rooftops until they settled upon the fourth great rock face – upon the visage of Namikaze Minato.  _I’ll make you proud, dad._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

The torch-lit halls below the tower were familiar to Team Seven; it hadn’t been all that long since they had defended Haku there.  Their escort led them off of the main corridor and down more stairs, leading to a level with cold stone walls and foreboding shadows.  Heavy metal doors lined the long hallway, all completely solid with no way to see inside.  Sounds from within the cells were muffled, but angry, far-away shouts could be heard as they passed by.

Temari and Kankurō were waiting at the end of the hall, in front of the cell that occupied the back wall.  Its door was larger than the others – it bore multiple sigils, intricate sealing tags that dangled from several horizontally hanging threads, and lines of jutsu-shiki were scrawled across its surface.

“Where’s the old man?” Kankurō asked after the escort had retreated back down the hall to stand vigil by the entrance.

“He had to talk to the Hokage first,” Naruto answered easily, approaching the door.  “Can we go in?”  Temari grimaced, then motioned to the guard.  She and her brother seemed to tense up, as if preparing for something.  Naruto and company only had time to wonder why they were acting strange before a flash of light blinded them.  Each of them became suddenly nauseous and dizzy, and for a moment could hear nothing but the rush of wind.  As quickly as it had started, each sensation vanished, allowing them to blink open their eyes and look around wildly.

“What the hell was that?” Sasuke asked, his Sharingan subconsciously activated and scanning around.

“Security measures,” Kankurō groaned, wringing his little finger inside of his ear in annoyance.  “They do that every time they’re about to open the door.”  Sure enough, the sigils and jutsu-shiki had faded, the tags had been cleared of their script, and the door was ajar.  “Always that same guy, too.  I never even see him move, but he apparently does some kind of fancy ninjutsu to make sure we can’t see or hear what he’s doing to unseal it.  They–” He quieted immediately upon hearing the sound of rattling chains from within the room.

“Let’s go.” Temari stepped past her brother and cautiously pushed the entryway inward, revealing the large cell within.

An odd sense of déjà vu took hold of Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata as they stepped over the threshold of the prison.  They couldn’t tell how expansive the area was given the lack of illumination, but it was at least twenty meters to where the only light hung from a ceiling lost in the darkness above.  Naruto shivered, but not from the cold.  It was the kind of feeling that he had gotten when stepping into the arena during the Chūnin Exam’s final matches, or when he had been standing before Feng on the top of the phoenix’s volcano.

“This place is . . . enormous . . .” Hinata breathed.  Everybody looked at her then, but she didn’t get self-conscious from the attention like she might have otherwise.  Her Byakugan was active, and she only stared around in wonder.  “I think we’re underneath the mountain . . . Every wall and bit of floor space is covered in sealing techniques, and they all seem to combine and flow together to one central point.”  Her eyes moved to the presumed center of the room, and it all made sense.

“Gaara,” Naruto nodded.  Shukaku’s jinchūriki sat calmly in the middle of the small circle of light, his eyes closed and breathing even.  A heavy metal collar circled his neck, attached to which were six iron chains that led off into the dimness, presumably fastened to the far off stone walls.  Just enough slack had been left so he could move ever-so slightly, but not nearly enough to let him lie down.  His arms and wrists were bound behind his back by thick lengths of rope that circled his torso, into which were burned more lines of seals.  Outside of his predicament, the boy was unharmed, and his plain white clothes looked to have been recently changed.  At the very least, Tsunade had been making sure he was as comfortable as he could be given the circumstances.

“Yo, Gaara.” Without any concern for caution or etiquette, Naruto walked through the darkness and into the small lit area occupied by the captive shinobi.  He lowered himself down just in front of the other boy, crossing his legs and waiting a few seconds before continuing with, “How’ve you been?”

“A foolish question, Uzumaki Naruto.” Temari and Kankurō both gasped upon hearing their younger brother speak for the first time in weeks.  They said nothing, either due to the shock or simply not wanting to interrupt.  Gaara opened his eyes slowly, and all parties present were relieved to see his irises back to their normal pale green.  Shukaku seemed to be fully suppressed – for now.

“I guess so,” Naruto sighed, his eyes traveling along the lengths of chain.  “Still, it could be worse.  At least you’re alive, right?”

“I was told that you were likely dead.” Gaara tilted his head, the action causing the links to tighten on the other side.  “It is good that you are not.” Naruto blinked at that before grinning.

“Yeah, I tried that once.  I wasn’t really interested in trying it again.” To their collective bafflement, the corner of Gaara’s mouth turned up in the barest representation of a smirk.

“I have been considering what you told me,” he started, speaking very deliberately.  “I was wrong in saying that you do not understand me.  I have had time to think, and . . . sleep.”  Gaara looked around the room slowly, and there was no bitterness in his gaze as it fell over the many seals and safety precautions binding him.  In fact, there was a definite note of appreciation somewhere in his expression.  “These seals are well crafted.  They keep the Ichibi from invading my mind, most notably while I slumber.”

“That’s good to hear.  Honestly, I’d probably go a bit nuts if I had some annoying voice in my head all the time.” Naruto smiled mischievously, and Gaara blinked at him once before that shadow of a smirk returned.

**_Very funny, idiot._ **

_You know you love me,_ Naruto teased.

“Uzumaki Naruto,” Gaara continued, settling his eyes on the blond.  “I wish to apologize for my actions up until this point, and those of my village.  We were deceived – all of us, in one way or another – and while what has been done is inexcusable, I can offer nothing but my gratitude towards you and your village for the way in which I have been treated, even as a prisoner of war.  Konoha is . . . an interesting village.”

“Gaara you’re . . .” Temari began, taking a step towards her brother as tears gathered in her eyes.  “You’re . . . yourself again.”  He turned his head up towards her and nodded very slightly.

“With some help from these three, and with my mind as my own again – for the time being.  Thank you both for coming to see me every day.  I would have liked to speak to you sooner, but I needed to speak to the jinchūriki first.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kankurō said gruffly.  “We’re just glad you’re alright.”

“You can call me Naruto,” the blond remarked.  “And in case you forgot their names already, this is Sasuke and Hinata.”  Gaara nodded to each of them in turn, and then met Naruto’s eyes again.

“Why are you here, Naruto?”

“To see if we can keep you from getting executed,” Naruto responded bluntly.  Gaara seemed unfazed by the admission, but Temari and Kankurō were taken aback.

“You didn’t tell us he was going to be killed!” Temari accused.  Naruto shrugged, but Sasuke thought it appropriate to at least qualify the statement.

“We didn’t know until Jiraiya told us, but do you really think that it hasn’t been considered?” The Sand kunoichi bristled and looked as if she was about to retort, but a simple flick of Gaara’s eyes stopped her in her tracks.  Even if more docile and level-headed, the boy could still chill a person’s blood with a glance.

“The Leaf has every right to take my life, but I am not yet ready to die.  What must I do to facilitate my survival?”

“You talk a lot like Shino,” Naruto said with a shake of his head.  “You two would probably get along pretty well.”  Gaara managed to don a subdued quizzical expression – quite a feat for somebody without eyebrows.  “But anyway . . . We talked to Jiraiya-sensei, and he says he might be able to help.”

It took a few minutes of explanation – aided largely by Hinata – for Naruto to lay out the tentative plan, and by the end of it Gaara’s eyes were closed and he seemed to be deep in thought.  They waited for a time, until finally he nodded and regarded them once again.

“I would welcome a stronger, modified seal for the Ichibi.  I feel that if I could stay like this . . .” He looked around at the multitude of seals confining him, seeing them as a respite within his tumultuous life rather than something to curse for imprisoning him.  “Then I might be able to come to understand you, Uzumaki Naruto.  You . . . and your friends.”

“I guess that settles it, then.” Jiraiya’s voice echoed through the stone chamber as he approached on silent feet, and all heads turned to watch as he entered the pool of light.  He appeared more serious than usual, and he carried a few small scrolls in one hand and a satchel in the other.  Temari and Kankurō bowed respectfully when he came into view, and even Gaara managed a courteous nod.  “I see that the heirs of Sunagakure have not forgotten their manners.  Are you prepared, boy?”

“I am,” Gaara intoned without hesitating.

“Good,” the Sage grunted.  “Tsunade has decided to release you once the seal is in place, pending an agreement with your village.  Obviously restitutions and a forced alliance will be in order, but the visiting diplomat seemed very willing to negotiate if your freedom was on the table.”

“Sounds like your village wants you back,” Naruto commented with a grin.  Gaara managed a shrug.

“They want their weapon back.”

“For now, maybe.  I’m working on changing how my village sees me, and I expect you to do the same.” Gaara considered that for a moment before offering a final nod, as well as that same small smirk that managed to make him look a little more human.

“Alright kids, visiting hours are over.  This is going to take a while, and he’s almost certainly going to be unconscious afterward.  You can come back tomorrow when he’s no longer at risk of becoming a rampaging bijū conduit.” Jiraiya stood by and watched as the quintet turned to leave, a few final glances being spared for Gaara on the way out.

“See you on the other side, Gaara,” Naruto intoned, waving just before departing from the light.  The other boy again quirked his nonexistent eyebrow, and before he could respond Jiraiya had stepped between them to begin his work.

“That’s what Kurama said to you when you died, isn’t it?” Hinata whispered on the way out.  Naruto winked at her, the action barely visible in the darkness.  She smiled and gave his hand a tight squeeze.  _You really have grown, Naruto – in more ways than one._   Hinata hadn’t noticed until that moment, but Naruto was now noticeably taller than her, and she liked that just fine.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Nobody was in the correct mindset to train after the morning’s events.  Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata spent the rest of the day roaming Konoha, with no purpose in mind outside of sharing in one another’s company.  Sasuke suggested testing out Naruto’s phoenix summon, but the blond declined largely due to not wanting to bother Feng – an immortal being – with something like ‘testing his abilities.’  In the end, they sat together at Ichiraku, eating ramen and catching Naruto up on the past few weeks of activity and rebuilding efforts around Konoha.

“It’s good to have my best customer back,” Teuchi beamed as they stood to leave.  Naruto grinned back at him and offered a thumbs-up.

“It’s good to be back, Teuchi-san.  Even though I think I had a bowl of your ramen yesterday.  My yesterday, anyway.”  They shared a laugh and a wave before departing, strolling down Konoha’s main road to burn the remaining time before dinner with Iruka.

“Naruto,” Hinata started after a time, taking her boyfriend in with a glance.  “You haven’t had a chance to change out of your clothes yet.”  She plucked a stray piece of charred something from near his waistband, and he made a face upon realizing for the first time that he was, in fact, filthy.

“Yeah, I know.  It’s been kind of a crazy day for us.”

“We should get some new clothes,” Sasuke offered, shrugging when they both blinked over at him as if surprised.  “What?”

“All you ever wear is plain black shorts and shirts, and those weird rubber things when we’re training or on missions,” Naruto pointed out.  “Did you plan to get more?”

“To be fair, I don’t think any of our wardrobes are terribly diverse.  It’s not very practical for a shinobi to have to think about what he or she is going to have to wear every day during the course of duty.  It’s easier to just pick an outfit and stick with it, day in and day out.” Hinata had a point, but that all seemed pretty boring to Naruto, and he said as much.

“That kinda makes sense, but I want a change of style, and some different stuff to wear around the apartment or when we have days off.  I mean, at least you have those flowy dress things, and those shorts that you asked me about the other day.  They really aren’t too tight, by the way; I prom–” Hinata’s hand flew to Naruto’s mouth before he could get another embarrassing word out.  She was already red enough without him going into any more stories about her ‘at home’ clothes.

“Well, as much as I’d _love_ to hear about Hinata wearing tight clothes for you . . .” Sasuke began, earning a scandalized look from Hinata, “Let’s just grab some casual stuff.  Haku says I need to ‘discover the rainbow of possibilities’ or something, in terms of clothing.” Naruto let out a snort, and even the chagrined Hinata managed a giggle.  Sasuke rolled his eyes and took a turn towards a nearby shop, not interested in their teasing today.

The sun was well into its descent by the time they emerged from their last stop, where Naruto had managed to procure something to change into.  The blond sported a long-sleeved, loose-fitting burgundy shirt and black pants, which were held tight to his shins with plain bandages just above his jika-tabi.  He had been going for something like what his father used to wear, only mixed with colors his mother had favored.  Hinata had seemed to like it, and Kurama had even hinted that Minato would have appreciated the outfit.

Sasuke’s definition of ‘rainbow of possibilities’ likely fell out of line with Haku’s.  The Uchiha had retained his high-collared shirt style, and though his new one was open in the front, it was still black.  His undershirt was midnight blue, and fit well to his torso.  Dark pants covered his legs, although it was difficult to tell if they were merely grey, or some very faded shade of cobalt.

Hinata hadn’t changed anything about her own outfit, as she liked what she had picked for herself during the Chūnin Exams.   A great deal of thought had gone into choosing her attire, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t pick up a few things for casual wear.  She hadn’t let either of the boys see what she had bought, mostly to avoid a another round of teasing from Sasuke.  Unfortunately for her, teasing came as a second nature to the Uchiha.

“You must’ve picked up some really questionable garments if you want to hide them that badly,” he yawned.  “Or was it just because I was there?”

“Shut up, Sasuke,” she muttered without any real conviction.  In truth, she _had_ picked one or two things that would probably get returned on account of their . . . revealing . . . natures, but they didn’t need to know that.  They were for her, and she would _definitely_ be returning them.  Almost certainly.

“I’m just kidding,” he sighed, rolling his eyes and giving her a playful shove.  “You and Naruto can go play dress-up now.  I’ll see you guys tomorrow for training.  I’m sure Kakashi has some ideas for a new regimen now that you’re back, not to mention that the next exams are soon.”

“I think I’m more than ready to get back to training,” Hinata said, glad for the change of topic.  Naruto only nodded, bidding Sasuke farewell as they parted ways for their respective homes.  After Sasuke had gone, she gave Naruto another once-over before nodding thoughtfully.  “I think that’ll go well with your coat.  I have it in my room, whenever you want it back.”

“Thanks.” He seemed distracted by something, but Hinata knew that she wouldn’t have to wait long to find out.  Naruto usually confided in her without much prompting on her end.  “Hinata, I’m kind of . . . scared, I guess.” She blinked at him as they continued to walk, surprised to hear that from the boy she had known to be perpetually fearless and confident.  “Of a lot of things.  A lot’s been happening to us lately – a lot of dangerous things.  Akatsuki is probably looking for me, and Itachi is with them.  Orochimaru wants Sasuke, but we don’t even know what for yet; that cursed seal isn’t just gonna go away.  He even sent those guys after us yester – er, a few weeks ago.  We keep surviving these things, but only just.  I’m scared that the next time, or the time after that, we won’t be so lucky.

“On top of all that . . . I’m worried about using Kurama’s chakra, I guess.  I’ve already shortened my lifespan, though by how long I won’t ever really know.  He did say that Uzumakis have longer lives than most people, though.  But . . .” He tried to focus his thoughts; he was really just rambling now, but it felt good to be able to talk about his concerns.  “Even if we are working together, the Fox’s chakra always feels like it’s threatening to take control.  It’s so . . . angry, like it has a mind of its own.”

**_It does, in a way,_** Kurama grunted.  **_Though I’ve already explained that at length.  Even if I’m not seeking to take over your body, if you bite off more of my power than you can chew, it can alter your entire chakra circulatory system and brain chemistry._**

_Right, right . . . I know.  Even if we are on decent terms – at least, I think we are – you’re still the Kyūbi._

**_And you would be wise not to forget it._ **

“Naruto,” Hinata began, reaching down to take his hand.  “I’m afraid, too.” She surprised herself by letting out a light laugh.  “I’ve already lost you twice, and although I’m starting to think you can come back from anything, I still get scared knowing what’s out there.  But . . .” She chewed on her lower lip for a few seconds, until Naruto gave her hand a squeeze and spurred her into speech again.  “But if we don’t train ourselves, if we don’t defend the village and friends that we love, then we won’t be ready when we have to face those dangers in the future.  None of us are ready to take on Akatsuki – even one of them might be able to take all three of us together, and I’m sure Orochimaru could as well.  That’s my drive to get stronger, though, because I want to be able to protect my friends when the time comes.  I want to be able to protect you, because . . . because I don’t think I could handle losing you again.”

“Hey,” Naruto said softly, reaching over to place his other hand atop their joined pair.  “It’s going to take more power than every rogue ninja has combined to take me away again.  I promise.” Hinata smiled despite herself.  It would be naïve of her to believe too much in such an impossible guarantee, but a small part of her allowed that hope to blossom nonetheless.

“I believe in you, Naruto.  I know that it’s a struggle, but if anybody can handle Kurama’s chakra, it’s you.  No matter how strong its influence, I know that you’re stronger.  You won’t let it beat you; I know it.”

“Thanks,” he said again, this time with real sincerity as he turned mid-stride to catch her in a hug.  “You’re the best, Hinata.”  She flushed at the sudden gesture, but returned the embrace nonetheless.  She had missed how warm he felt, and the way that his arms seemed to fit perfectly around her every time they came together.

They strolled the rest of the way home in a comfortable quiet, hands clasped firmly together.  Many dangers lurked in the world beyond their village’s walls – and some perhaps even within them.  But they had one thing that their enemies didn’t: each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost: I’m reeeeeaaally sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter out (and also that it was kind of a filler/bringing some details together sort of thing). I’ve recently changed jobs going from one side of the work spectrum to the other, and its thrown me for a life loop for sure. I’ve also been busy writing, finishing, and now editing my first original novel, which I have admittedly been prioritizing over CFKD. Again, I’m super sorry, but I promise that I’m still writing and excited about the story!
> 
> Few things of note/reminders: I make a lot of stuff up, especially now that I’ve broken cleanly from canon. I’ve tried to make this alternate universe as close to what I’d like to have seen the show evolve into as possible, and as such have taken several create liberties along the way. I’m totes alright with constructive comments/reviews; you’ll notice that I even leave the negative ones up. xP But just remember that this is a story of my own creation, based on a world with an incomplete framework that I’m just trying to build upon and add to. Sometimes I make mistakes, but more often than not it’s just me adding (or subtracting) my own spin on things.
> 
> Other than that stuff, no real notes! I know that Kurama’s description of how the chakra takes over isn’t canonically accurate, so don’t get your panties in a knot correcting me. With their current relationship, there needed to be a real risk to overusing the Kyūbi’s powers without properly becoming partners/friends, and so I added one to make sure things stay “balanced.” Also, I hope Gaara didn’t come off as too OOC; I was trying to imagine him freed from Shukaku’s influence, and just hope I didn’t go too overboard with it.
> 
> Thank you as always for the favorites and follows over these last few months, and especially the many reviews. I get e-mail alerts on all of them (follows and favorites, too), and it always gives me warm fuzzies to know that people are reading and enjoying the story still. And of course, a big ol’ thank you to Rhi for the dedicated editing, and especially for putting up with my months of tardiness on getting this chapter out. She really did try to spur me on, but I am difficult to work with.
> 
> Thanks again, and here’s hoping I can get back to a semi-normal update schedule!
> 
> See you next time!


	27. To Keep a Promise

Training Ground Three was silent save for the gentle rustling of turning leaves, a sound brought on by the frigid easterly breeze that foretold the coming of winter.  A light rain had been falling since before dawn, and it added its own bone deep chill to the three genin lying in wait around the clearing.  Each set of hidden eyes was focused on Kakashi, who stood atop the centermost post looking for all the world like he was enjoying a sunny afternoon.  The fact that he had both eyes revealed and open gave him away, however.

“Here they come,” he murmured.  Half-lidded eyes flicked to one side to study the treetops, and an instant later a barrage of watery bullets came streaking silently through the rain.  “Good use of the environment to cover your attack,” he continued to himself, all in a voice too quiet to carry beyond his own ears.  “Next . . .” He twisted even as he spoke, leaping into the air and adjusting his body so that the near invisible projectiles passed harmlessly by, some coming close enough that he could feel the pressure.  The jōnin’s hands were already flying through seals before he was clear of the first attack, and a burst of fire from his own mouth met one from the opposite direction.  The two fireballs met and exploded in a cloud of heat and steam, his own precisely calculated in strength to cancel out Sasuke’s.  Kakashi’s eyes narrowed as he fell towards his landing, and when he hit the hard-packed earth his hands slammed into the ground as well.  “Doton: Rising Hillock!”  A resounding crack rent the air as a large fissure split in front of him.  What looked like Hinata was ejected from the new cleft, but the form vanished in a cloud of smoke when a small hill began to bubble into being between the two ridges.

“You all should know better than that by now.  You got the bells from me because I hadn’t anticipated your teamwork and individual skill, but don’t think I’ll underestimate you three now.” He lowered into a standard fighting stance then, eyes hard.  They could beat him if they pushed themselves – he was sure of it.  “Don’t think for a minute that you’ve fooled me.  This isn’t all you’ve got.  Come!”  As if in answer, three distinct chakra signatures flared, and they were upon him.

The first was Hinata, appearing like a ghost out of the light haze – when had the fog risen?  Kakashi smirked as he pivoted to engage the Hyūga’s flashing blue palms, but he knew that the next would arrive before he could return a single strike.  He turned away Hinata’s blows with one hand, his other flitting to the opposite side to clash with Sasuke as the boy phased out of the ground beside him.  _There’s no way,_ Kakashi thought with a touch of humor.  He was good, but he didn’t think that anyone short of Gai could have defended against these two with only one arm each.

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu._ He made two copies, immediately using a Replacement jutsu to change places with one in favor of engaging his last student himself.  _Alright, Naruto.  Let’s see what you can–_ Even his thoughts were caught off guard when a pair of glowing orange claws burst from beneath his feet and shot for his ankles.  Only reflexes honed from decades of training saved him from being pulled under, and only just.  A fist of shuriken tore towards him the moment his feet left the ground, forcing him to use a kunai to deflect what he had not been prepared to avoid.  Even with the Sharingan, he had trouble tracking the reddish blur through the rain.

Naruto hit him with such force and at such a high speed that a shockwave burst around them, creating a small field within which rain could not fall for a moment.  The blond was wrapped in Kurama’s cloak, all three tails writhing behind him as if eager for the fight.  Kakashi had caught the punch with both hands and a grunt of effort, but was turning it away in almost the same instant.  The move took Naruto’s balance and used his momentum against him, forcing him to stumble past to one side.  Kakashi whirled to follow, but instead dropped into a couch to allow one of the tails to pass harmlessly over his head.  Had he remained standing, it would have struck him as hard as any fist could have.  _He’s getting better at controlling it._

“Raiton: Discharge,” Sasuke growled, leaping back from the clone he was fighting and raising a fist.  Kakashi raised an eyebrow, as did each of his clones.  A lightning technique wouldn’t do any good, and Sasuke should have known that.  Sending a current into the air would have no effect in the rain; water was an excellent conductor, but the charge could only jump between droplets at random, if at all.  He couldn’t send it into the earth either, for the energy would become grounded despite the water underfoot.  Kakashi was still wondering what the boy was up to in that split second when he realized why Hinata had seemed distracted in her fight.  She had been concentrating.

“Suiton: Condense,” she whispered, raising one chakra-filled hand to the air.  The pieces fell into place almost before Kakashi could react.  Almost.

The instant Sasuke’s charged finger touched a mote of falling water, the droplet expanded.  Rather, it joined with the one closest to it, and that one to its neighbor, and on and on so fast that it moved _with_ the electricity surging through it.  Hinata’s technique was guiding the water as it fell to link into a chain that led from Sasuke’s hand to where Kakashi still crouched from Naruto’s attack.  They weren’t even bothering with the clones.  Light filled the clearing as the joint technique went off, blazing a trail of lightning to a jōnin-sized ball of electricity.  The two bunshin dissipated with accompanying puffs of smoke, and for a second all three genin believed that they had won.

“Replacement technique,” Sasuke muttered, kicking the charred log.  “I didn’t think he got it off; I was watching him, too.”

“He must have used it when the light was too bright for us to see,” Hinata offered, frowning slightly as she said it.  “A tenth of a second at most.”

“A hundredth.” Sasuke scowled as if the words were bitter in his own mouth.  “How the hell can he move that fast?”

“Training,” Naruto sighed, scanning the trees as he did.  “Still, kinda crazy, isn’t it?” They all shared a grin of one magnitude or another before scattering into the forest.  A few seconds later Kakashi landed on the center post, seemingly out of thin air.  His face was placid again, although it was difficult for him to resist smirking.

“That was pretty close, but you’ll need to do better if you ever want to beat me.” He ignored the bit of smoke curling from the back of his glove, which had joined the other almost-injuries of the day.  A clean slice had been taken out of his left pant leg, and an almost invisible spot of red indicated that he had been barely grazed by something that morning.  The sole of his right sandal had been scorched and partially melted.  He could feel a blister forming on the back of his hand from where the metal guard had been electrified and burned straight through the cloth beneath, but he ignored it.  _You’re getting there, and it’s certainly more than most could say, but not yet._   He took a deep breath, folded his arms, and raised his voice.  “Again!”

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“Well . . . I landed a punch today.”  It was nearly dark when Naruto slumped into a stool at Ichiraku.  He felt drained and stiff from excessive chakra use, but as usual he showed none of the signs of wear that his friends did.  Sasuke and Hinata were covered in scrapes, welts, and bruises from the grueling training, but neither paid the injuries much attention.

“We did get him a few times,” Hinata said encouragingly, although even she looked a touch despondent.  “I’m not sure we’re strong enough to beat him, though . . .”

“I can see everything he’s doing,” Sasuke growled, clenching his fist on the countertop.  “I can follow every movement he makes, but I just can’t keep up.”  Naruto shook his head.

“If we could combine your eyes and ninjutsu with my power, and those with Hinata’s speed and precision, I think we’d stand a chance.  As it is . . .” The blond shrugged, pausing to place his order with Ayame.  “As it is . . . We might be really strong, but Kakashi-sensei’s had thirteen more years to train.”  He made a face and opened his mouth to continue, but Sasuke finished the thought for him.

“Not to mention that he’s a veritable genius.  He might not have been born with a kekkei genkai, but anybody who makes jōnin so young is a force to be reckoned with.  Hell, he was a chūnin at six years old – we weren’t even in the academy at that age.”

“Things have changed a lot since the Third War,” Hinata put in, staring down into her ramen as if to puzzle it out.  “I have no doubt that Kakashi-sensei had the skill necessary to be promoted so young, but the village was also training genin at a much earlier age than today.  I would think . . .” She paused, giving her head a shake before reaching for her chopsticks.  “I hope that we never have to see children become shinobi.  No matter how skilled, it just seems . . . wrong.”

“Children . . .” Naruto mused, pausing to slurp a mouthful of noodles.  “Heh, I guess we’re not kids anymore after all.”  Hinata colored slightly, but nodded after a moment.  They had earned their places among their peers and betters, and together had been through too much to still be considered children.

“Even if the reasoning is solid,” Sasuke huffed, ignoring his meal, “I still plan to beat him before the next exams.  I’m going to go back to train after this; you two in?”  He received two determined nods in response, and the trio dug in with gusto.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

_I can’t believe his stamina,_ Sasuke thought irritably, easily dodging Naruto’s orange blur of a fist.  Easily, but not quite so easily as an hour before.  He was tired and aching in more places than he thought existed in a human body.  Still, it took the majority of his concentration to keep up with the blond’s assault, which only seemed to become more and more frenzied as time wore on.  That, or Sasuke was just getting more exhausted by the second.  The air felt thick for some reason, as if a heavy blanket of humidity lay over them in the crisp evening air.  That sensation was second in his mind; he had a plan to execute, and precious little time left in his window to move.

A Body Flicker got him out of the way of a kick right as Hinata’s technique tore through the air, a blast of condensed air that could have split a goodly sized tree in two.  Naruto took it full on in the chest, flying back a dozen meters before a sizeable boulder stopped him cold.  Cracks blossomed like a spider web from the point of impact before Naruto slid to the ground with an audible thud.  Sasuke let his Sharingan fade when the reddish flames began to die down around his opponent, signaling an end to the extended match.

“Naruto!” Hinata gasped, appearing beside Sasuke as he dashed towards the rock.  She looked much more worried than he felt; Naruto could and had taken much worse than that.  The force that she had used told him that she had also noticed their friend’s increased ferocity, however.  Her stricken features combined guilt with concern, and he was sure that she was berating herself on the inside.  “Are you alright?”

“Of course he’s alright,” Sasuke grumbled.  “His head’s hard enough to–” The rest of his words were drowned in an unnatural, guttural growl from where Naruto lay.  The sound carried on a rising wind, and suddenly the thickness around them grew from a sluggish presence to a suffocating cloud.  Red-orange light flashed, and once again Naruto was a torch of fiery chakra.  “What the . . .” He was too slow in recalling his Sharingan.

The sharp snap of breaking bone accompanied Sasuke’s gasp as Naruto hit him, one arm trapped and broken between the charging boy and his own crushed chest.  His breath left in a rush as he rocketed back, ricocheting off of two trees before colliding with a third hard enough to halfway uproot it.  Flecks of black and white danced in his vision as he struggled to rise.  The world was spinning, and his mind was still trying to catch up to what had just happened.  His left arm lay limply by his side, and Sasuke knew without any prodding that it had been fractured in several places.

“What the fuck, Naruto?!” he wheezed, sagging against the tree for support.  The ringing in his ears died down slowly, and his vision began to clear enough so that he could follow the rapid movements out in the darkness.  Red and yellow streaks danced with deep violet and white, dizzying in their speed.  It took Sasuke a few seconds to realize that the two – there were two, now that he could make them out clearly – the two shapes were those of his friends fighting.  This wasn’t any normal sparring match.  If the manner in which Naruto had hit him hadn’t been clue enough, this cleared any doubts in his mind.

It was odd, the things you noticed when dazed so completely.  Without his Sharingan, Sasuke wouldn’t have been able to appreciate just how fast Hinata had become.  Any time he sparred with her he had been forced to counter that speed in some way, either by using weapons, ninjutsu, or genjutsu to slow her down, or some combination thereof.  Of course, he had seen her move like this plenty of times before, but it always took him aback for a few seconds, and made him wonder how she got outpaced by Kakashi.  Her fluid movements truly were like a dance, flowing from one stance to the next, attacking and defending with alacrity to outpace lightning.  Sasuke would have stopped to be impressed for longer had he not noticed Naruto immediately after.

The blond wore a rictus snarl completely unlike his normal focused expression when in the midst of a fight.  Reddish chakra roiled about him, lashing out as if of its own accord.  Three tails bristled behind him like plumes of fire, writhing madly while trying to make room for a fourth.  Worst of all – even worse than the additional tail – were Naruto’s eyes.  Somehow he had always managed to make even those malevolent red eyes seem jovial, but now they blazed with a heat that could only be fury and hatred, and they stared right at Hinata.  Hinata, whom he loved.

“Oy!” Sasuke yelled, stumbling forward.  A few strides got his balance and strength back.  “Naruto!  Snap out of it!”  He could feel that oppressive pressure all around the clearing now, and its origin could no longer be dismissed as a mystery.  It was pure killing intent mixed with something more, something . . . wrong.  It was as if Naruto’s – or rather, Kurama’s – hatred had oozed out and mixed with the very air around them.  “Naruto!”

Naruto whirled at the sound of Sasuke’s voice, a wordless noise akin to a peel of thunder escaping his throat.  That simple loss of focus cost him three successive strikes from Hinata, landing on his side, chest, and shoulder.  Bright blue light flashed at each impact, shreds of energy splashing away in swirls of lavender as the two chakras seemed to briefly combine before dissipating.  Naruto staggered back a few paces, letting out a wordless roar of pain and outrage.  The places Hinata had struck lacked the covering of Kurama’s chakra, but even as Sasuke watched they began to fill in again.

“He’s losing control,” Hinata panted, her voice tight and almost shrill with her own panic.  She pivoted while Naruto reeled, hands flashing through signs before familiar chains burst from her palms to wrap around her boyfriend.  “Help me hold him!”  Already the blond was thrashing at the ethereal bindings with a rage that sent a chill down Sasuke’s spine.  “Sasuke!”  Hinata’s tone was definitely panicked now, although she hadn’t even given him a second to work with.

“Easier said than done,” he ground out, lifting his injured arm through stabs of pain and uncontrollable spasms.  There didn’t appear to be any nerve or tendon damage, thankfully, but even making slow seals sent jolts of fire up to his shoulder at every movement.  “Suiton: Water Prison!”  He extended his good arm as the jet of water flooded from his mouth to surround Naruto, whirling into a sphere of liquid that could have held their sensei fast.  “Go get Kakashi-sensei – no, Jiraiya-sensei.  He knows more about the seal.”

Huang dove down from above before Hinata could move, the bird’s cry somehow communicating fear and sadness.  The tips of her wings burned a faint blue instead of their typical yellow as if to further emphasize the unspoken emotion.  The phoenix landed on Hinata’s shoulder when the kunoichi released her technique, and she simply stood there watching the creature rather than running for Jiraiya.

“Hinata,” Sasuke said sharply, gritting his teeth.  “He’s not exactly easy to hold, even with this jutsu.  Hurry up and get Jiraiya!”

“Huang-san . . .” Hinata began, her brow furrowing as she stared at Huang.  “I think she wants you to do something.”  Indeed, the phoenix was watching him instead of Naruto, those eyes of burnished silver intent on his own.

“Me?” he asked incredulously, his gaze traveling back to Naruto.  Within the prison the other boy quivered with effort, obviously trying to break free from the compressed water.  “I’m already holding him with this, and barely!”  Even as he spoke Naruto managed to jerk one arm up a few centimeters.  Sasuke ground his teeth.  Sweat slicked his face from the effort of holding the technique, and his arm had begun to shake.  What more was he supposed to do?  If Naruto had gone off the deep end, they needed somebody who could tamper with the seal or otherwise suppress the evil chakra.  Something tickled at the back of his mind at that thought, and he suddenly remembered what Kurama had said what felt like so long ago.

_‘An Uchiha whose eyes don’t seek to control my power.’_ That had been what the Fox had said.  What exactly did that mean?  The emphasis had clearly been on his clan name.  Did that mean that the Uchiha had the ability to control a bijū?  _Eyes . . . That’s all it could be.  The Sharingan._ His kekkei genkai was powerful, he knew, and it could cause a certain form of compulsion when used in a certain way, but . . . _Controlling Kurama?_   Something else tugged at his mind, something regarding the Kyūbi’s attack on Konoha, but he brushed it aside.  “Won’t know unless I try,” he growled.  “Hey, Shit-For-Brains, look at me!”  Naruto jerked his head up to meet Sasuke’s glare with one of greater intensity.  _Here goes nothing . . ._

At first, nothing seemed to happen.  Sasuke knew very well how to apply a genjutsu using simple eye contact, but he knew it couldn’t be the same trick.  He kept eye contact, searching those red catlike eyes for something – anything.  Abruptly he felt something, like an invisible tug just beyond sensation.  An inexplicable force pulled behind his eyes, and instincts guided the rest.  A sensation of being ripped from his own body took him, followed immediately by falling through endless darkness.  Falling, falling . . .

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

There was nothing to indicate that his downward motion had ceased, but after what felt like hours of descent into blackness – hours, yet consciously known to be mere seconds – Sasuke stood blinking at one of the oddest scenes he had ever witnessed.  He had landed – or rather, he had simply appeared – shin-deep in an expanse of clear water.  A steady dripping echoed around him, and an eerie golden light swathed the chamber from no discernable location.  It was the type of soft, consistent light that he might expect to see in a dream, coming from nowhere but present everywhere save for above.  A glance upward showed perfect and endless black.  He swallowed.  Red eyes of an Uchiha traveled down to view the massive gate that dominated the far side of the room, and between that and him . . .

“Naruto!” Sasuke leapt forward, but he stopped several strides short of his friend.  Naruto lay on his back in the water, staring with too-wide, unseeing eyes into the darkness above.  Reddish chakra oozed out of the water around him, appearing to come from some greater depth than Sasuke’s feet could discover.  The room at large held an unnatural coolness to it, but next to Naruto felt like standing beside an open furnace.  Like on the outside, the chakra seemed to have a life of its own, boiling up and latching onto the jinchūriki.  It looked to be flowing into his open mouth and otherwise attempting to seep into his skin.

**_“So you did make it,”_** a monstrous voice rumbled.  Sasuke’s head jerked up only to realize that a shape was moving beyond the gate.  His eyes went up and up, and up further still until he was looking into the blood red eyes of the Kyūbi.  He had seen the beast before, but this seemed a good deal more . . . personal.  This was technically its domain, after all.

“I guess I did,” Sasuke shrugged.  “Now how can I help him?  And why can’t you do anything?”

**_“Those eyes are reminiscent of another’s,”_** Kurama mused, going on as if the Sasuke hadn’t said a word.  **_“Tell me, boy . . . Have you heard of a man named Uchiha Madara?”_**

“Who hasn’t?” he snapped, taking a step nearer to Naruto.  A strand of chakra lashed out as if to strike him, falling short by a few centimeters.  “Can you help him or not?”  The Fox made a noise deep in its throat, something that sounded half amused, half annoyed.

**_“Mortals are so irrationally hasty.”_** The bijū lowered its head to its forepaws, regarding Sasuke with one enormous eye.  **_“I can’t do a thing for the brat.  The chakra I lend is one thing, but he took hold of the portion he can grasp on his own.  It’s mine, but at the moment it is separate from me.  It feeds on his anger while simultaneously drawing out memories that instill yet more frustration and malice.  It always tries to do that, of course, because the fool won’t simply release my seal so that we can share full control of my power.  It drives itself now that he’s gone past what he can handle on his own.”_**

“Great explanation and all, but isn’t that bad?” Sasuke was trying to remain cool and collected.  The way in which Kurama spoke indicated that it wasn’t a large concern, but then again the immortal had a very different view of what a problem was.

**_“If left unchecked, who knows what could happen?”_** Sasuke blinked, and he could have sworn that the Fox smirked at him.  **_“Maybe it will consume him completely and cause him to lose his sense of self.  He could go berserk.  It’s also possible that he will continue to unconsciously draw more, damaging the seal further in his maddened state.  If he does that, it’s possible that he will be no more, and I will be free again.”_**

Now Sasuke understood, and now he was sure that Kurama was grinning at him somehow, a cold, calm smile.  After everything that had happened, even after saving all of their lives and returning to his prison of his own will, the beast was openly considering this.  But why?  When he asked as much, coarse thunder bubbled around him in a semblance of a tremendous chuckle.

**_“Boy, do you think I invited you in here because I intended to allow such a thing to come to pass?  I may want to be free, but Naruto is too interesting to destroy just yet.  When I make a bargain,”_** he growled, hackles rising as if to emphasize the point, **_“I keep my end.  I brought you here to help him, mortal, but if you see reason to convince the idiot to keep up his end, then so be it.”_** That sounded much more like a suggestion to Sasuke, but he didn’t voice the opinion.  He wasn’t sure how long Naruto was expected to hold out, and talking further was just wasting time.

“Great, so you can’t help.  What can I do?”

**_“Use your Sharingan, you imbecile.”_ **

“Sure, simple as that.  Just use my kekkei genkai in a way that I never have before – in a way that I don’t even have a hint of – to save my friend.  Naruto said that you have an attitude, but I didn’t expect you to be dense as well.”

**_“How did you get here?”_** Kurama asked in tones of mock patience.  The sneer was all too audible in his words.  Sasuke opened his mouth to respond, then closed it again.  How had he gotten there?  He couldn’t remember.  The Fox seemed to understand what the silence meant.  **_“You may be a fool, but you have passible instincts for a human.  Pull your head out of the hole you’ve stuck it in and think,_ imbecile. _”_**

Sasuke did think, deciding to ignore Kurama’s quip in the process.  _How did I get here?  No, not important.  Think._ But he had been told – in so many words – to use his instincts, which required no thinking.  Acting on impulse he stepped forward into range of one of the strings of chakra, which shot for him immediately.  He snatched it out of the air and sent a surge of his own chakra through it, guiding the flow with his Sharingan without thought.

The red-orange coagulation burst away from Naruto as if expelled by a strong gust of wind.  It spread and dwindled rapidly into a fine mist, which settled back to the water before sinking below the surface.  Naruto lay there for a time, still staring at nothing, but lacking the assaulting chakra.  And then he blinked, and blinked again.

“Sasuke?” he asked curiously, sitting up so suddenly that Sasuke took a quick step back.  He eyed his friend dubiously, not yet sure if the blond was free of the foreign influence.  “How did you get in here?”

“I used my Sharingan, I guess,” he began slowly, eyes flickering up to Kurama before settling back.  It didn’t seem that Naruto remembered.  “You went a little crazy outside, and we had to hold you down.”  Naruto frowned and rubbed at his temples, then shook his head ruefully.

“I remember sparring for a long time, and then something changed with Kurama’s chakra.  Then I woke up here.”  He stood carefully, wincing as he came fully erect.  “Did I . . . Did anybody get hurt?”

“You broke my arm, and maybe a rib or two, but nothing serious,” Sasuke replied wryly.  It was only then that he realized that his broken arm wasn’t actually broken.  He lifted and moved it experimentally.  “Well, it’s broken on the outside, anyway.  Where is this place?”

“My head, I guess,” Naruto shrugged, shifting his feet in the water.  “Sorry, Sasuke.  I’m not really sure what happened.”

**_“I know you’re daft, kid, but you’re not that much of a moron.”_** Naruto turned to glare at the Kyūbi, but Sasuke’s thoughts were elsewhere.  Inside of Naruto’s head?  He looked around again, seeing everything for the first time.  In his rush to help his friend, he hadn’t thought about the implications of the foreboding chamber.  The endless expanse above, the eerie lights, the prison holding Kurama, and the seal placed directly at the center of the bars.  There was nowhere else he could have landed, and that thought pebbled his skin as a chill shuddered by.

“. . . not my fault if your stupid chakra has a mind of its own,” Naruto was saying in a sharp tone.  Sasuke shook himself and refocused on the conversation.  “Look, I’m just asking how I can avoid that happening later.  You don’t need to be a jerk about it.”

**_“I told you how, fool,”_** Kurama growled.  To Sasuke, this sounded like an argument that had been rehashed time and time again, and one where neither expected to gain any ground.  **_“The more you draw on my chakra without my aid, the easier time it will have in twisting you to its will.  With how much I give you, I could easily do it myself if I had half a mind to.  As it is, you have two choices: stop using my power so freely, or undo the seal so that you and I can work together and mold our chakras as one.”_**

“Every time _I_ suggest that we work together, you just make some snarky comment about it.  Besides, didn’t you say not too long ago that I ‘would be wise not to forget’ that you’re the Kyūbi?  I’m trying to get Jiraiya-sensei to loosen the seal because I promised I would, but with the way you act all the time it feels like I’m making a big mistake.”

**_“You think I would break my word?”_** the Fox said in a low, dangerous tone.  Naruto set his jaw and opened his mouth to deliver what Sasuke was sure would be an unwise retort.

“I didn’t come here to play mediator,” Sasuke cut in quickly, fielding sharp looks from both parties.  “But as far as I can tell, you’re both idiots.”  That was perfectly neutral, like any good arbiter should be.

**_“Pardon?”_** Kurama rumbled, followed immediately by Naruto’s offended, “What?!”

“Look, Naruto,” Sasuke began, grimacing at the water all around him.  He would have sat down for this if there had been anywhere to do so.  “You did make a deal with Kurama, and you’re not one to break promises.”  Naruto scowled and looked to be about to protest, but Sasuke continued over the beginnings of his outrage.  “He’s saved your life a few times now, and even _voluntarily_ reentered his prison after you let him out to save the village.  If nothing else can convince you, that alone should prove that Kurama keeps his word.”  The Kyūbi shifted his head to look at Sasuke with both eyes, blinking once.  He looked . . . surprised.

“You’re taking his side?” Naruto asked, sounding halfway between hurt and affronted.  Sasuke held up a placating hand.

“I’m not taking any side.  I’m just calling it how I see it.  On that note,” he continued, looking back to Kurama.  “You’re an asshole.”  He expected more of a reaction to the blunt statement, but the Fox only peered down at him from that great height.  Perhaps the slightest quirking near the back of his lips, but that was all.  “Whatever your reasons or excuses – maybe you were born this way, or maybe it really has been what humans have done to you over the years – whatever they are, you have to start looking at Naruto like a partner.  If you keep up this ‘Naruto is too interesting to destroy _yet_ ’ crap, I wouldn’t trust you either, no matter your promises.”

**_“What is it that you propose, oh wise counsellor?”_** Hints of mockery practically dripped from Kurama’s words, but Sasuke responded as evenly as if it had been genuinely asked.

“I think Naruto needs to stop dawdling and actually loosen the seal,” he began, eyeing his friend askance.  He didn’t particularly like that idea himself, but he hadn’t made the bargain.  “And don’t say you’re not, because Jiraiya’s not the only one who can work fūinjutsu at that level.  You haven’t even tried asking Tsunade or the Hoka – ah, I mean Sarutobi-sama.”  Even after so long, it was difficult not referring to the man as Hokage.  “I bet they have an idea of how to help, or at least know an expert who could.”  Again Naruto scowled, but allowed a reluctant nod after a moment.

“And I already mentioned what you need to do,” he continued, rounding on the Kyūbi.  Not an easy thing to do when you were the size of the tip of its claw, but he managed to look annoyed nonetheless.  “You spend far too much time being nonchalant and ‘mysterious.’  Naruto might not be the brightest—”

“Hey!”

“—but he isn’t stupid.  Take the time to explain things to him – what else better do you have to do in here, anyway?”  Kurama made a noncommittal sound that Sasuke took for a grunt, even though it was loud enough to make his skull feel like it was vibrating.  “Instead of just sitting there when he’s about to go overboard like just now, warn him, or – gods forbid – help him if you can.  I almost told Naruto that he needs to respect you more, but bijū or not you need to earn that with your attitude.”

**_“You dare imply that my—!”_**   Sasuke rolled his eyes and sped through a series of seals when the beast began speaking, putting a spin on the Wind Whisper technique.

**“Yes I dare, you big furry lummox,”** Sasuke boomed, his voice echoing around the chamber to match that of the Fox’s.  For his part, Kurama visibly balked, though either at being interrupted or from the volume, Sasuke couldn’t tell.  He went on in a normal tone, however, though with no less severe a glare.  As far as he was concerned, it was high time things got in order in this . . . place.  _Naruto’s head, I guess._   “If you want your freedom to stretch your legs or whatever, you’re going to need to view Naruto as an ally – as a friend, even.  From what I’ve seen and heard, you don’t look at anybody like that.  So if you won’t for the simple fact that he’s not a bad guy to be friends with, then start trying because it’ll help out with your goal.”

Silence held in the chamber for a long while.  Naruto flashed him a quick, sheepish grin at his final statement, but otherwise stared Kurama down as intently as the Fox watched him.  _I’m sure they’ve had this out countless times now, and covered the same things I just said.  Why did I even put myself in the middle of this argument?  How do I get out of here?_ The bubble of quiet was burst by the Kyūbi’s snort, and along with the fleeing lull came a blast of air that had Sasuke and Naruto’s coats whipping back for a few seconds.

**_“You two are a thorn in my side, but you at least know some sense.  I’ll see what I can do about my . . ._ attitude. _”_** Sasuke blinked.  That had come as a surprise, but the bigger shock came out of Naruto’s mouth mere moments later.

“Yeah . . . Sasuke’s right.  Maybe I haven’t really wanted to loosen the seal because I didn’t trust you as much as I should.  You have come through for me – for us, really – more times than I care to admit, and I guess . . . you do deserve more trust for that.”  Sasuke stared in disbelief.  Had this been all they had needed to solve this argument, an outside perspective telling them both off and handing them the obvious?  He shook his head slowly.  This was truly ridiculous.

“Great, so, now that we’ve settled that . . . How the hell am I supposed to get out of here?”  His only response from Naruto was an apologetic shrug, and Kurama simply raised an eyebrow as if to say ‘Isn’t it obvious?’  Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes before closing them, muttering under his breath about bijū and worthless friends.  A sensation took hold of him as soon as he concentrated on departing, like an icy hand gripping the scruff of his neck and dragging him upward at an unthinkable speed.

Abruptly Sasuke found himself stumbling backwards, gasping for breath as he sat down hard.  The watery orb collapsed as soon as his hand left it, letting Naruto sink to the ground in the manner of a deflating balloon.  Hinata looked between both of them before kneeling beside a very tired looking Naruto, whispering a few words that Sasuke didn’t quite catch before hurrying to him.

“What happened?” she asked worriedly, her hands already surrounded in green light and searching for injuries.  “You just . . . froze.  It was like you had turned to stone, and you were staring at Naruto with a scary look on your face.  Only for a second, but then Naruto’s cloak was gone and . . .” She trailed off, not knowing exactly what had happened then.

“Only a second, huh?” Sasuke muttered, allowing her to fuss over his broken arm.  “I guess I entered his subconscious using the Sharingan, and . . .” He relayed what happened in full while Naruto got to his feet and shambled over with a rueful look on his face.  By the time he finished, Hinata was shaking her head and gingerly laying his arm back on his own lap.

“I can’t heal this, Sasuke.  We’ll go with you to the hospital and get it fixed.”  She stood and offered him a hand, which he took gratefully with his good arm.

“Sorry, Sasuke . . . I really didn’t mean to let it get out of control like that.” Naruto did look truly chagrined, so much so that Sasuke bit back a – mostly – friendly jest.  Mostly.  “I think I really need to cut back on using Kurama’s chakra; I think just two tails until we can work on the seal more.”

“Good,” Sasuke smirked, punching his friend’s shoulder none-too lightly.  “Hinata and I both are barely a match for you with three, so maybe we can go one on one if you hold back some.”

“You two could beat me if you went all out.  We don’t use lethal force when we spar, and I know that both of you can do some real damage if you put your mind to it.  If you used some of your more powerful ninjutsu, for example, or a really deadly combination with bukijutsu.  I know Hinata could make one of my kidneys explode if she had half a mind to.” He winked at her when he said as much, and her careful shrug and moderate flush gave away more than if she had said something self-deprecating.

“Either way, it’s plenty of power to make it to the finals.  The other teams have been training hard, I know, and I’m sure there will new tricks from the other nations, but I think we’re pretty far ahead of the competition.” Sasuke always thought it best to be confident, regardless of whether or not he saw his own statements as true.  They were stronger than any of the other genin in the village, and of that he was positive.  It seemed that most villages had one or two squads that were far and above the rest, but those they could deal with when the time came.  His only concern was . . .

“What if we have to fight each other in the finals?” Hinata asked quietly.  She was smoothing her skirt and biting absently at her lower lip, but her tone was enough for Sasuke to see the concern.

“Then we fight, and we go all out,” Naruto said cheerfully, taking one of her hands and giving it a squeeze.  He laughed then, though it didn’t sound like his full spirit was in it.  “I feel bad for whichever two of us has to fight before the final match.  Even the winner will probably be too battered to put up a good fight in the last round.”

“Good thing you won’t have to worry about that,” Sasuke jeered.  “You’ll be busy sleeping off your first round loss in the infirmary.” Hinata stifled a giggle, and Naruto started off a string of defensive comments interspaced between jibes at Sasuke’s own predicted performance.  As they walked into the darkness of the woods together, heading towards the hospital, Sasuke couldn’t help but wonder about his own strength, and how much further he had to go in order to reach his goal.  _Am I strong enough yet?  Will I ever be?_

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“You three certainly seem to have been pushing yourselves since Naruto returned,” Hiruzen chuckled.  “It’s only been two weeks, but I can tell that each of you has become stronger since then, although I would question your methods if you are sustaining such injuries.” A knowing gaze lingered for a moment on the sling holding Sasuke’s right arm against his chest.

“That was my fault,” Naruto admitted quickly, bringing the teacup to his lips to provide a moment to think.  His eyes cast around as if looking for a distraction, but all he saw were surroundings that reminded him of the purpose of their visit.  It was a simple room – Sarutobi-sama seemed to like simple things – within the old man’s home, the kotatsu at which they sat being the centerpiece.  The walls were bare save for a framed photograph of the Sandaime himself standing behind three genin, all of whom were easily recognizable to Naruto.  Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru were all so young in that picture.  Who would have guessed that one of them would have gone on to hate the village so much as to try to annihilate it?

“Does it have anything to do with the surge of the Kyūbi’s chakra that I felt last night?” Hiruzen asked mildly, taking a sip of his tea as if the thought was of no concern.  Naruto balked and hastily set his cup down before shoving a few burned fingers into his mouth.  Spilling still scalding tea all over his hand did little to help get the right words out.

“Yeah . . . Well, sort of.”  He rubbed at the back of his neck and glanced at Sasuke, who only shrugged.  Hinata gave him an encouraging smile from his other side.  Naruto took a deep breath and finally met the old man’s eyes directly.  Hiruzen was one of the few people who didn’t flinch at the site of his red eyes and slit pupils; the wizened Third merely watched placidly, giving nary a hint of being perturbed in the least.  _I can trust him with this,_ Naruto told himself, as if he hadn’t decided that long since.  It all came out in a rush.  “I lost control of the chakra and went on a little rampage, and if Sasuke and Hinata hadn’t restrained me and stopped it, I don’t know what would have happened.  He got hurt in the process, but it wasn’t that bad thankfully.”  The only thing that gave away Hiruzen’s surprise was a blink.

“They stopped it?” he mused, though it sounded like only a half question that had bubbled past thought to be vocalized.  “How did you two manage that?”  His calm yet serious dark eyes seemed to take in Hinata and Sasuke both, despite them sitting to either side of the man.  Sasuke glanced at Naruto, though not seeking permission to speak; they had discussed this eventuality already.  In short order Naruto’s friends explained what they had done to detain him, and Sasuke skimmed over the part concerning Kurama and the chamber within his friend’s subconscious.  He spoke as if the details were unimportant, touching only on the major points of what he had done, and also pointing out that he was unsure how to replicate the techniques.  “I see . . .” Hiruzen started slowly, glancing between the two genin again as if reevaluating them.  His expression still gave away nothing as he turned his attention back to Naruto.  “Judging by Sasuke’s explanation, I can only assume that you’re here for a reason other than to explain what happened.  After all, even if you needed to, I am no longer the one to give such a report.”  Old people always seemed to know what you wanted before you asked.

“Yeah . . . It’s about the seal.  I want to know if it’s possible to loosen it, and if you’d be able to help me with doing it.”  At last some emotion broke through Hiruzen’s mask of serenity.  He visibly stiffened, and – although slight – his eyes widened at the properly insane sounding inquiry.  “I sorta made a deal with Kurama during our mission to the Land of Waves.  In return for saving my life – three times, at that point – and in exchange for letting me use his chakra whenever I wanted to, I promised to do what I could to loosen the seal.  In the meantime, I let him hang out in my head and talk to me when he feels like.  I guess it helps him feel less confined or cramped or lonely, which is great because he’s been really helpful since then.  I’ve gotten a lot stronger with his help, and he saved my life again during the Chūnin Exams – and yours too, I think, after Kakashi-sensei suggested it – and also the village.  And . . .” Naruto trailed off at a soft pinch to his right leg.  He glanced at Hinata, who gave him a small smile and shake of her head.  Only then did he fully realize the extent of his rambling, and he abruptly colored with embarrassment.

“That is . . . interesting,” Hiruzen said after a lengthy pause.  His features had come back under control, but he still appeared troubled.  He set his cup down and peered into the pale green liquid for a time, as if trying to divine his next words from the contents.  “I think that you are being inordinately considerate, Naruto.  I can’t think of anybody who would look to cooperate with a bijū, let alone befriend one.  Even your mother kept a tight leash on Kurama when she was his jinchūriki, although I suppose that her temperament could have accounted for some of that.” He smiled fondly at the memory of Kushina, and Naruto found himself grinning as well despite the pang in his chest.  “However, I’m afraid that I cannot help you, and I’m surprised to say that I might if I were able.”

**_I thought this might pose a problem,_** Kurama muttered before Naruto could open his mouth to respond.  **_He’s not Hokage anymore, and I am considered ‘property’ of the village.  That means Tsunade’s the only one who can make the call._**

“We have to ask Tsunade-sama, don’t we?” Naruto said, echoing the Kyūbi’s assumption.

“Giving up the post of Hokage comes with the benefits of retirement,” Hiruzen smiled, “But it does mean that I am no longer the one to approach with such matters of importance.  I appreciate that you trusted me with this matter, Naruto, but yes, you will need to consult Tsunade.”  Naruto couldn’t stop a sigh from escaping.  It wasn’t that he disliked the Godaime; on the contrary, he liked Tsunade just fine when she wasn’t being too bossy.

“It’s easy to forget that the Kyūbi is considered a military asset,” Sasuke sighed, sliding back from the table to stand.  “I guess we’re just going to have to see Tsunade after all.”

“Thank you for meeting with us, Sarutobi-sama,” Hinata said meekly, bowing from where she had stood.  “We’re sorry to have troubled you with this.”  The corners of Hiruzen’s eyes wrinkled as he smiled, and a mirthful twinkle shone in his eyes.

“You three would be hard pressed to trouble me, especially nowadays.  I’m glad you stopped by to have tea; next time I hope that you’ll be able to stay longer.”  He remained seated, returning to sipping at his tea while Naruto got to his feet.

“Thanks, Sarutobi-sama,” Naruto intoned before turning to follow his friends from the room.

“Naruto.” Hiruzen’s voice was pitched low for only their ears, though Hinata and Sasuke stopped just outside the door to peer back curiously.  The retired Hokage peered over his cup with an unreadable expression, though Naruto could see the hardness that came from decades of being a shinobi etched in the man’s features.  “It is good to want to keep your promises, but do not seek Tsunade’s permission with too much optimism.  It is a difficult and complicated thing that you ask, and more than just your honor is at stake.”  Naruto hesitated a moment before giving a slow nod, followed by a final bow.

**_Damn that old man,_** Kurama grunted, though strangely the words held no heat.  **_He sees more than most humans.  I can’t say that I didn’t expect this, but I still don’t like how it’s turning out._**

_You knew this would happen?_ Naruto asked flatly, shutting the door to Hiruzen’s home behind him.  _Why did you say to ask him, then?_ The Kyūbi liked to play the ‘mysterious immortal’ card more often than was amusing, he knew, but this had just wasted time.

**_I’m not omniscient, you buffoon; nobody can predict the future.  Hiruzen has a soft spot for you, and it was a fair bet to see if he might act on his own.  It was a small chance, but worth taking._** Naruto closed his mental mouth.  Perhaps it hadn’t been a _complete_ waste of time.

_So what if Tsunade-sama refuses?_ he asked.  _What do you expect me to do then?_

**_I expect you to keep up your side of the bargain,_** Kurama stated simply, and surprisingly with only the slightest flicker of annoyance.  The Fox didn’t seem worried about Naruto’s promise anymore, instead focusing on how it might be accomplished.  **_If she says no, you’ll just have to find another way to do it on your own._**   Naruto very much doubted that he could manage such a task, but he had given his word for better or for worse.

Team Seven made the walk to the tower in silence, and Naruto was grateful for the time to think.  Hinata’s hand felt warm and comfortable in his, and every now and then she gave a little squeeze, though for whose benefit he couldn’t say.  It felt nice all the same.

In no time at all they were climbing the stairs leading up to Tsunade’s office, and Naruto found himself becoming increasingly anxious.  It was a near foreign feeling for him.  Iruka always said that his youthful cockiness and brash attitude had matured into confidence and steadiness, but really he had always just chosen a path and stuck with it.  This confrontation would be . . . personal; he couldn’t think of another word for it.  Kurama was a part of him – the jerk Fox was _his_ bijū, and likewise he was Kurama’s jinchūriki.  A disturbing thought entered his mind at that line of reasoning, one that he was surprised had taken so long to come up.  _I’m the jinchūriki of a captured bijū.  I . . ._ ** _belong_ **_to the village._

“We all do, in a way,” Sasuke shrugged.  Naruto blinked, and only then realized that he had voiced his concern aloud.  “Think about it: whenever a trained shinobi leaves the village without authorization, he’s labeled as a rogue ninja until proven otherwise.  We’re military assets that can’t be allowed to stray, at least when it comes down to it.”

“I don’t . . .” Hinata began, pausing as an ANBU agent ghosted past them.  She sat beside Naruto on the bench opposite Tsunade’s office, and Sasuke mirrored her on the other side.  “I don’t think that’s entirely true.  Well, I suppose it is in fact, but we’re not just tools to be used by the village.  Each of us went to the academy of our own volition, and though for different and individual reasons, we all had – and still have – a desire to protect the village.  I can’t think of us so . . . coldly as that.  We have a purpose, and we serve that purpose as best we can of our own choice.”

“I think so too,” Naruto said with a small smile, giving her hand a squeeze.  Her fingers really did feel nice curled around his like that.  “But . . . I think it’s a little different for me.  I mean . . . You both saw what Kurama’s capable of; hell, the entire village saw it, and some . . .” He shook his head, remembering how many lives had been lost in the brief conflict within the village walls.  No matter how many times he or the others insisted that it had been necessary – that incalculable lives been saved by the Kyūbi’s actions – he could not just forget what devastation a mere footfall of a tailed beast could wreak.  “Anyway . . . Even if nobody ever says it, I’m basically a sort of trump card for the village in case we ever go to war again.  Don’t look at me like that, Hinata,” he grumbled, not meeting her stern gaze.  “I hadn’t really thought much about it, but if Tsunade-sama wanted to, she could release the seal herself with or without my permission.  Just like how Gaara was used by Suna, me and Kurama could be used to fight some big battle in the future.  All three of us might be weapons of the village, but I can’t help but think about how much freedom I really have as a jinchūriki.”

Silence fell over them again, though this time it was not the comfortable kind.  Naruto could feel both of his friends watching him, but all he could do was shrug.  It wasn’t as if he had any problems with who he was – not many, anyway.  He still wanted to protect the village and his friends within it – these two, Haku, Shikamaru, Sakura – all of them.  Even if he had less wiggle room when it came to some things, and even if Tsunade really did just consider him a powerful weapon, he would still willingly fight for Konoha.  It was his home, however much some of the citizens still loathed him.  There was plenty still worth treasuring here.

“The Hokage will see you now.” Naruto looked up to find Shizune peering across the hall at them, holding the door open to admit entrance.  “Do try to be quick; she is very busy right now.  I’m surprised she agreed to meet you in the first place.”  Her tone was a touch testy, though Naruto supposed it was always like that when Tsunade shirked her duties.  He was beginning to suspect that happened more often than not, even if it was not the case at present.  He rose and filed in with Sasuke and Hinata, stepping into the center of the room with a friend on either side.  Tsunade sat glowering at a parchment on her desk, with stacks of paper to either side of it that seemed in danger of toppling at any moment.  She appeared to be in no mood for requests.

“What do you need?” she all but snapped as soon as the door was closed.  “I’ve got a village to run and an exam to prepare for.  Shizune might be taking care of the financial side of things, but I still have to approve all of the new infrastructure and building projects.  Oh, and the permits, and the registration forms, and the mission requests, and . . .” She trailed off irritably, eyeing the tower of documents on her left as if it were a mound of vipers.  “Anyway, I’m busy, so make it quick.”  Naruto winced, then took a deep, steadying breath.  He hadn’t let go of Hinata’s hand, and he wasn’t planning to.  He needed the support.

“I want you to loosen the Kyūbi’s seal so that he’s not so confined and because I promised him I would do it in exchange for saving my life and letting me use his chakra,” he said all in a rush, wincing again before the last words were out.  He had thought to present the idea much as he had to Hiruzen, but it had all come out in a nervous spout that couldn’t be taken back now.  Tsunade’s eyes sharpened, and she met his gaze evenly before her lips parted to say one firm word.

“No.” Almost as if they had vanished from the room, Tsunade lifted her pen and filled it in the inkwell before bending back to her work.  Naruto could only stand there staring, and after a few seconds he clicked his jaw shut from where it had been hanging agape.  There had been no cushioning, no explanation, and hardly a breath of hesitation, and now he was as good as dismissed along with his plea.

“That’s it?” he demanded, unable to keep some of the outrage from his voice.  “Tsunade-sama, this is really important to me, and—”

“I said no, Naruto,” she replied sharply, not looking up from her writing.  “I already know that you’ve been trying to tamper with the seal, and I will neither aid you with it nor allow anyone else to.  There are too many risks and far too few benefits to justify taking such an absurd course; I will not even _chance_ endangering the village just because you promised Kurama some extra space in which to stretch his proverbial paws.  No offense, Kyūbi-sama,” she added with a half-glance towards him.  “But you had to know that this wouldn’t work.”

**_None taken, Tsunade-_ chan.  **The insult was clear in his derisive snort.

Unsure of what to say or do, Naruto spun and stalked out of the room, a scowling Sasuke and pensive Hinata fast on his heels.  The door didn’t slam as they left, though only because Hinata was the last out.

* * *

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and sighed heavily, tossing the pen onto the desk and spattering a few droplets of ink across the page she had been working on.  This was just what she had needed.  It was hard enough keeping up with everything that needed doing without adding a frustrated genin to the mix – a frustrated _jinchūriki,_ rather.  She rubbed at her temples with one hand while the other flicked a signal towards an innocuous wall panel.  The wood appeared to bulge outward for an instant before resolving into the kneeling form of an ANBU shinobi, his face cast down respectfully.  A mask resembling a cat covered his features, with green and red markings along the outside and by the eyes.  “Report.”

“There seems to have been no further incident since last night’s mishap, Hokage-sama, although it seems that the boy is growing more determined to loosen the Kyūbi’s seal.  As I stated, he mentioned using the chakra to a lesser extent until a favorable solution could be found, but he seems impatient.  There is also a matter of their conversation in the hallway; they—”

“Shizune already detailed that for me,” Tsunade barked, then took a deep breath and took a firm hold on her frustration.  No, it was past frustration, if not quite outright anger.  What was she going to do about the child?  “Just keep monitoring him.  And next time he loses control, intervene _before_ somebody gets hurt.”  The man only nodded once before melting into the floorboards, no doubt off to shadow Naruto again.  Tsunade grunted in disgust at herself.  _I sound like I expect him to go into a frenzy again._   “Is this really the right thing to do, Shizune?”

“I . . . don’t know, Tsunade-sama,” the other woman said quietly, still watching the door with a decidedly disgruntled expression.  “I want to believe that the Kyūbi is on our side and that we can trust Naruto to gain control if he isn’t, but . . .” Shizune shook her head, patting Tonton’s head absently.  The small pig oinked contentedly in her arms, and Tsunade envied the animal for its tranquility.

“Sarutobi-sensei trusted his advisors’, and even Danzō – to as much of an extent that he could, anyway.  The man’s a snake, but I believe that he has the village’s best interests in mind.  Still, even with all three of them agreeing for once, I can’t help but feel like we’re making the wrong decision here.” Tsunade rubbed at her head again.  She was beginning to think that headaches were just one of the perks of being Hokage.

“Some things are out of your hands, even as the Godaime.  All we can do is wait, hope that our choice is the right one, and be prepared to accept responsibility in the event that it isn’t.” Shizune shrugged uncomfortably, making it clear that – despite her confident words – she had the same reservations as Tsunade.

“Wait and see . . .” Tsunade murmured, shaking her head before retrieving her pen.  A cold shiver ran down her spine, and it was a long while before she was able to settle back to her work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks.
> 
> The plot thickens! Or begins to, at any rate.
> 
> Sorry again for the lapse in updates; this may be a normal thing, unfortunately. I’ve been working a lot lately, and outside of CFKD I have my own personal writing projects to work on. I do hope the next few chapters come quickly, though; Rhi and I have been plotting for the next arc, and I’m pretty excited for what’s to come.
> 
> No notes for this chapter, except to remember that this is fanfiction, not canon (especially not anymore), a story of my own imagining, etc. Don’t get too hung up how things “should be” in a purposeful AU. =P
> 
> Thank you as always for reading, reviewing, favoriting and following the story. Y’all are fantastic. A thanks as well to Rhi for her diligent editing as well – she’s probably why this chapter came out as “soon” as it did. She won’t let me get away with procrastinating tooooo long.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> \- Wes
> 
> [Rhi note: Sorry for posting this late -- chapters 27, 28, and 29 are coming out back-to-back-to-back here, and that's on me. Good news for you all, though!]


	28. No Matter What

“We’ve been getting so close!” Naruto hissed through clenched teeth, digging his claws into the tree bark.  He was lying flat on a high branch just behind a screen of leaves, all but glaring through them at where Kakashi stood at the center of the now all-too-familiar clearing.  He couldn’t hear even the slightest rustle of foliage or cloth to indicate that his friends were nearby, but he knew where they were.  An icy wind cut through his white cloak and coat beneath, chilling him to the bone.  He ignored it, just as he had for the last few hours.  The sun was still high in the sky – perhaps a few hours past midday – and the hollowness in his stomach reminded him of their quick breakfast half a century ago.

“I’ve been watching him for almost a month of this now,” Sasuke growled in a low, dark tone.  The other boy’s voice came to Naruto’s ear as clear as if they were side by side thanks to the Wind Whisper technique, though it was more likely that the Uchiha was at least a dozen meters off in another tree.  “He doesn’t make any mistakes and he’s faster than Hinata on her best day – no offense, Hinata.” A tiny sound was all that he got in response from her.  Naruto supposed it sounded like a distracted murmur of ‘none taken;’ he had become fairly adept at interpreting his girlfriend’s nonverbal sounds.

“What is it, Hinata?” he asked softly, not taking his eyes from Kakashi.

“I think . . .” she started.  “I think I have something that can work.  It’s going to take perfect execution and precision, but . . .” Naruto could almost see her chewing her lower lip, and he smiled to himself.  No matter how confident in herself Hinata had become, he thought she might never lose that bit of uncertainty.  It wasn’t the worst thing in the world; she was just naturally humble.

“That’s more than I’ve got,” he and Sasuke said almost in unison, and Sasuke continued a beat later.  “We’ve exhausted every formation and plan we’ve ever made, and none of our new ones have worked.  I don’t mind taking a breather to do some plotting.”

“Your ideas are always great, Hinata,” Naruto said brightly.  She actually managed to click her tongue at his obvious attempt at encouragement, though how without making any noise was beyond him.  Still, she did sound more sure of herself as she began the explanation.  As Naruto listened, his grin grew wider and more devious.  Hinata would make a frightening tactician one day.

* * *

The Third Training Ground was very still as Hinata stepped out from the tree line, but that was to be expected.  These skirmishes always began silently.  A thin layer of snow covered the outskirts of the open area, blanketing the surroundings in white.  As her eyes traveled to the three posts at the center, however, signs of their previous bouts became ever more apparent.  Swaths of snow – and dirt – had been scorched away by some fire technique or another, and projectiles riddled the ground in a haphazard layer of metal.  All of the snow at the very center had been scoured away by rapid movements and yet more jutsu.  Hinata took it all in at a glance, for that was all the time she had.

Kakashi vanished from the center post, and almost before she lost sight of him a ball of fire burst out of the trees on her right, forcing her into a diving roll and to come up sprinting.  Every so often he decided to strike first, and she was relieved that he had attacked from her right.  Naruto and Sasuke were likely in position by now, and she had to make sure Kakashi was in the correct place.  _It_ will _work,_ she told herself.  _Naruto and Sasuke have faith in me._   Steeling her resolve, she set the trap in motion.

Her flight from the fireball had been purposefully angled towards the center of the clearing, though nearer parallel to the trees than if she had been running for the posts.  She could see their instructor clearly, only thirty meters away and crouched behind a tree, but he knew that she could see him as well.  That was part of the plan.

“Shugohakke: Sixty-Four Palms!” She skidded to a halt while still appropriating chakra for the technique, and was already spinning when the kunai and shuriken left the bushes.  This she hadn’t specifically accounted for, but if this was going to be their all-out attempt then she wasn’t about to keep any chakra in reserve.  The weapons streaked towards and past her, though she knew by now that those in front were a mere distraction.  Needlepoints of chakra deflected projectiles from all sides as she whirled, those thrown past angled so that one of every pair would rebound off of another to shoot back towards her.  Her Byakugan-enhanced eyes let her see the last one leave Kakashi’s hand.  She had become accustomed enough to her kekkei genkai that she could predict several seconds into the future when it came to moving objects, and she slowed her rotation at precisely the right time.  Her left hand swatted away a shuriken while her right caught a kunai handle and flung the weapon back from whence it came.  She wasn’t even close to finished with her part yet.

_Hakke: Chains of Light.  Hakke: Ethereal Senbon Barrage._ A silver-white chain flew from her left hand as her right began to glow and release burst after burst of senbon aimed carefully to force Kakashi to her left, though not done so obviously as to allow him a hint of her motive.  The chain’s purpose was to suggest a second direction: up.  She nearly raised a joyous cry as it flashed around the left side of the tree, forcing the jōnin to flee from his cover in a vertical leap.  It was the real Kakashi so far, not a clone or substitution.  _Just one more step, and then it’s up to you two._

Hinata brought her hands down to the ground, ignoring the frozen slush and mud that instantly numbed her already chilled fingers.  “Suiton: Obscuring Fog!” she whispered fiercely.  The ground beneath Kakashi became shrouded in a thick mist before he reached the zenith of his leap.  She had used the water already present in the snow to great effect, but she didn’t wait around to get caught in the upcoming crossfire; it was up to Sasuke now while she took care of the final details.

* * *

Sasuke was on point with his timing, though he had to admit that Hinata had set him up so perfectly that it would have been impossible to miss the opportunity.  He made his move as soon as Kakashi broke away from the trees, flinging two fists of shuriken in wide arcs to either side of his instructor.  It would be difficult for the jōnin to see the wires attached to them, even considering his Sharingan.  Sasuke wasn’t about to allow Kakashi an opportunity to notice them, however.  He reached out to his side as soon as the shuriken were loosed, his palm facing down towards an unrolled parchment.  A fūma shuriken appeared in his hand and was released straight towards where Kakashi would be several fractions of a second later.   _Raiton: Lightning Shuriken._ Electricity flowed through the new weapon’s attached wire and lit it up like a beacon.  Hinata had indicated that this sequence should be as elaborate as he could make it to serve as a distraction from their real intent.   _Can’t make it much flashier than that._

Sasuke leapt from his perch with as much force as he could muster, aided by chakra focused into his legs and feet.  Even as he jumped he guided the two groups of shuriken to nearly encircle Kakashi so that they all sped towards him at once while the larger weapon streaked straight on.  He severed the wires with deft flicks of his wrists so that his hands would be free to begin speeding through seals.  _Katon: Great Fireball._ The mass of fire left his lips as he passed directly over Kakashi, aimed straight down at the top of the man’s head.  Sasuke’s hands were still moving through yet more seals, and his eyes were still locked on Kakashi.  As his arc completed and he began to descend on the other side, he twisted so that he would still be facing Kakashi’s back.  _Katon: Fire Lance._   The narrow jet of fire shot towards the jōnin’s back, and if his timing was accurate then it would strike at the same time as the fireball and fūma shuriken.

The entire maneuver had taken only seconds to execute, but he had known that those seconds allowed Kakashi plenty of time to assess and react appropriately.  That was why the array had been so tightly controlled, to cut off every possible exit save for one.  Even if Kakashi had all the time in the world to act, he would still be forced to avoid or cancel out the ninjutsu and dodge or deflect the projectiles.  They were counting on all of that.

“Katon: Great Fireball!” Kakashi spun to face upward as the gout of flame erupted from his mouth, and Sasuke suppressed a smirk.  It wasn’t the method that he had anticipated, but it would do.  The technique had been infused with the same amount of chakra that Sasuke had put into his own, thereby cancelling out both abilities in a blast of heat.  Kakashi’s had a secondary purpose, however.  The explosion of fire served as a propellant to speed his descent, allowing the fūma shuriken to whir past half a meter above his chest and the Fire Lance to scorch through where his head had been.  The clusters of shuriken met in a clatter of metal, those that didn’t pass by harmlessly falling towards the ground.

Sasuke disappeared into the fog and lost sight of Kakashi, but he had accomplished his task.  _‘After I force him into the open,’_ Hinata had said, _‘You need to make sure he comes down into the mist while we prepare the rest.  Then move to your next position.’_ He landed on ground that felt solid enough, though the shroud was so thick around him that it was impossible to see much further than his own outstretched hand.  _Your move, Naruto._

* * *

Naruto didn’t have time to stop and admire his friends’ handiwork, though he would have if it were possible.  Instead he merely waited until the fog rose up beneath Kakashi, then dashed into it from the cover of his hiding place in the underbrush.  Hinata had said that this was the crux of the plan – the most important part, she had explained – and his positioning was vital to it.  He had tracked Kakashi’s jump and anticipated where he would land, although the unnatural cloud coverage made it difficult to be exact.

Naruto stopped where he thought was the correct place.  He looked around, but there was little to see save for white nothingness.  _This’ll have to work._   He waited.  Suppressing his chakra was a real effort, but he couldn’t allow his teacher to sense anything before it was too late.  Likely Kakashi knew he was there, or at least somebody was, but hopefully he wouldn’t expect what Hinata had planned.

An explosion overhead indicated that his time for action was fast approaching, and he readied himself for what was to come.  By the sound of metal clashing with metal, he had positioned himself just right.  He waited.  _Gotta be patient . . . Gotta be patient._ Another thing Hinata had mentioned was that, while his positioning relative to hers was important, he had to be sure to wait until Kakashi landed to act.  It was time to rely on her eyes.

“Two clones, five meters ahead,” he heard Hinata say through the Wind Whisper jutsu.  “One at your twelve, the other two at your eleven and one o’clock.”  Hinata’s words came so fast that he nearly missed what she meant, especially with so many numbers in one breath.  It seemed Kakashi had suspected something.  The Byakugan couldn’t differentiate between Shadow Clones and the genuine article, he knew, so he would have to improvise as well.

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.”  Two more Narutos appeared.  They immediately leapt a few paces to either side and clasped their hands in ram seals just as Naruto did.  There wasn’t time for a technique now, though his backup plan would work just as well.  The clones would have signaled to Kakashi that somebody was there, but the sound of three sets of feet hitting the ground told Naruto that it was too late for his sensei to react anyway.

Three blasts of chakra expelled the dense fog like a windstorm sweeping away chaff.  A triad of brilliant blue lights marked Naruto and his clones out immediately, and the shockwaves from their abrupt release of suppressed chakra caught Kakashi and his two bunshin from behind.  A pair of smoke clouds indicated which were the fakes, and the one on Naruto’s left was sent flying forward with an audible grunt.

Hinata had moved as soon as the fakes had dissipated, dashing to intercept the real Kakashi before he could recover.  A softly glowing sphere of silver-blue light flickered away from where it had surrounded her – she had used the Chakra Web technique to block the energy that Naruto had released.  He grinned and rushed forward even as he heard Hinata call out “Hakke: Sixty-Four Palms!”

* * *

Hinata’s first strike hit square in Kakashi’s chest, stopping his forward movement with a particularly intense surge of chakra into her palm.  His eyes widened in surprise, but only for an instant.  The next moment his hands were flashing towards one another, but she wasn’t about to allow him to use another jutsu.  “Two strikes.  Four strikes.”  She persevered, pushing for more speed even after she had reached her limit.  It was enough, if barely.  Kakashi could read her movements, and he had the reflexes and swiftness to compliment the Sharingan’s sight, but she was just fast enough to force him to defend the technique and not work any hand seals.   _Hurry,_ she thought, wondering how she sounded breathless in her own mind.  She had used more chakra in the last few minutes than she had in the previous few hours combined.

Abruptly Kakashi faltered, one hand clutching at his chest where her first blow had fallen.  She hardly had time to be concerned that her aim might have been off.  Instead she took advantage of the opening and halted her ability mid-jab, using the forward momentum to instead pivot and bring a lightning-quick spinning heel kick into the side of his head.  That hadn’t been part of the strategy, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up, and the ability to adapt on the fly was part of being a shinobi.

Her heel connected hard, and though she didn’t have near the power that her teammates possessed, it was still plenty of cause Kakashi to stagger a step to one side.  That was all the opportunity that Naruto had needed.  She had been watching through Kakashi with her Byakugan while Naruto had been sprinting towards them, covering himself in Kurama’s chakra enough to bring out two tails.  He extended both hands upon arrival, and the reddish chakra stretched forward like a pair of monstrous claws.  It was one of the newer things that the Kyūbi had taught him, and he had taken to it like everything else he was learning.  The two new hands clasped tightly around Kakashi, pinning his arms to his sides and covering him from mid-thigh to shoulder.

Hinata spared a quick smile for Naruto, but this wasn’t quite the end of their plan, and she was glad to have thought just one step further.  A frightening amount of chakra flared from Kakashi then, enough to rival Naruto’s earlier display.  She hadn’t readied her shield, and as such could only cross her arms in front of herself and be tossed away.  “Hold on, Naruto!” she cried into the gale created by the jōnin’s surge.  Her back hit a tree and she gasped, the air leaving her lungs in a rush.  Through her wince she managed to catch sight of Naruto, still holding fast to Kakashi with a look of dogged determination etched on his face.  Thick tendrils of Kurama’s chakra had sprouted from his feet and legs and plunged into the ground, providing him an anchor while the two tails had gone back to dig into the cold earth, bracing his upper body against the force.

As suddenly as it had come, the chakra disappeared.  Kakashi let out another grunt as he was pulled straight down into the ground and effectively buried up to his neck.  Sasuke burst up in a shower of dust and rubble, breathing hard but wearing the broadest smirk Hinata had ever seen on him.  She dashed forward despite her own lack of adequate air, kunai in hand.  She shoved its point under Kakashi’s chin, and only then noticed that Sasuke had one positioned on one side of his neck while Naruto held another poised at the base of his skull.

The dust and tumbling debris settled into a tense silence.  Hinata heard her own breath loud in her ears, and the sound was echoed thrice more by her friends and instructor.  She didn’t take her eyes off of Kakashi’s, however.  Too many times they had thought themselves victorious when instead they had captured a clone or substitute.  This time, though, she was sure.  It had to be Kakashi.  _It has to be!_

“Well done,” Kakashi panted at last, closing the eye containing his Sharingan in what looked like a wince.  “Very well done, Team Seven.”  His congratulations dispelled all of the tension in the air, as well as what she had been holding within.  Hinata fell back to sit hard on the ground, allowing herself to take deep, appreciative gulps of air.  She heard Naruto raise a cheer, and thought Sasuke muttered something like ‘It’s about damn time,’ but all that mattered to her at the moment was breathing.  “Would you mind letting me out of here?  This technique is far from comfortable, and I think one of my ribs may be broken.”  Despite her condition, Hinata felt her face heating.

“I’m sorry, Kakashi-sensei,” she said between breaths.  “I didn’t mean to – to hit so hard.”  She struggled up to one knee in order to use a simple earth technique to shift the ground around, but Naruto put a hand on the top of her head and shook his own firmly.

“I’ll do it; you and Sasuke used a lot more chakra than me.  Rest,” he insisted, and she managed a tired but grateful smile for him before sinking back down.  She _was_ tired, and the thought of using even the most minor technique got her head spinning.  If Kakashi had been able to execute just one jutsu in those final moments, all of their efforts would have gone to waste.  But then, she supposed that was the point to out-maneuvering a stronger opponent – leave no opportunity to counterattack.

Naruto made quick work of freeing their sensei, utilizing Kurama’s chakra to dig furrows around Kakashi before lifting him out with one oversized red-orange claw.  He hadn’t quite mastered the manipulation yet, a fact that Hinata could see in his expression.  She thought Naruto looked cute when he concentrated like that, but she wasn’t about to say so in front of everybody.  They teased the two of them enough without her encouragement, and she wasn’t sure that she had the energy to blush right then.

“That was . . . unexpected,” Kakashi sighed, stretching and flexing his muscles as if to test to see if they still worked properly.  “A four part plan with a fifth contingency, if I read it correctly.  I regret using the Decapitation technique in front of Sasuke,” he said wryly.  “Still, you all executed it well.  I take it this was one of Hinata’s plans?  It was too complicated for Naruto, and Sasuke would have been more direct.”

“Yep!” Naruto stated proudly, smiling down at her in a way that made her feel decidedly warm inside.  “We couldn’t have done it without her, either.  She told me where you and your clones were when you landed, and she had to be the one to flush you out since she knew exactly where you were.”

“Yeah, and she’s the only one of us fast enough to keep you from using hand seals in combat,” Sasuke put in.  Apparently Hinata did have the energy to blush, because she felt her cheeks heating up as their praise went on.

“I just came up with the idea,” she protested.  “They thought up their own methods of accomplishing what they needed to.”

“Humility is a wonderful trait, Hinata,” Kakashi said with an ill-hidden smirk.  “But there’s no need to downplay your own accomplishments.  You all defeated me together, though, and for that you deserve to be congratulated.  I’ll take you all out to a nice hibachi after the exams are through to celebrate your accomplishment, alright?” He tugged his hitai-ate back down over his left eye, then winced again and felt at his chest.  “Even if the second stage wasn’t tomorrow, I’d still give you the rest of the day off.  As it is, you three need to get as much rest as possible.  Remember: the exam is going to be held at the Badlands north of Konoha.  If you want to be there well before eight, you’d best sleep early tonight.  You’re only allowed to bring your ninja tools and the clothes on your backs, got it?”

“Yes, sensei,” they all said together.  He nodded once, then disappeared into the trees.  From the direction he was heading, Hinata thought that the hospital might be his destination.  She felt bad for using too much chakra in that initial blow to his chest, but her elation at their success far outweighed the shame of that one mistake.

“That was awesome you guys!” Naruto exclaimed, moving from rapping Sasuke’s knuckles with his to lifting Hinata off the ground and spinning her in a delighted circle.  She let out a squeak of surprise, but a second later she was laughing along with him.  Naruto’s enthusiasm was as boundless and contagious as always.  It was one of the things she loved about him – one of the many things.

“Where is Huang-san?” she asked when he set her down on her own feet.  Normally the creature would have come swooping out of the trees as soon as their training session had concluded.  She took hold of his hand before realizing it, but such things had become so natural that they hardly received a thought anymore.  “She hardly leaves your shoulder unless you’re training or ask her to do something for you, and I haven’t seen her this morning.”  Hinata had begun to feel a bit uncomfortable about the phoenix.  Not in a truly bad way, she didn’t think, but it had become clear long ago that the animal was not only sentient, but highly intelligent.  As such, it felt a touch awkward at times when her and Naruto were alone, and Huang was simply there watching.  She knew it was silly – what care should the bird have?  Still, she hadn’t been able to shake the feeling.

“Oh, she went back to Mount Hiuchi last night.  I found out that she can go back whenever she wants to, like a de-summoning or something.  I thought she might want to be with her dad and around fire and stuff instead of stuck with me all the time, so I asked her to go back until I call her.  Apparently Feng-sama wasn’t too thrilled about it – he had wanted her watching over me or something – but it’s all okay now.  Sorry,” he added, scratching behind one ear and looking genuinely embarrassed.  “I forgot to tell you last night because we ah . . .” His cheeks colored and he went on while pointedly ignoring Sasuke’s rising eyebrow.  “And this morning I wasn’t really thinking about it because of our training.”  Hinata blinked, then schooled her features – and blush – so that she wouldn’t appear too pleased – or abashed.  She had forgotten all about the phoenix until now, similarly distracted by the day’s main event.  Well, at least they wouldn’t need to worry about being spotted out during the exam now.  Sasuke had raised the question last week, and Naruto had agreed that – should the test be similar to the last one – they wouldn’t want a fiery beacon following them around.

“Come on,” Sasuke said, pulling his cloak a little tighter around himself.  “It’s cold out here, and I feel like I haven’t eaten in a week.  I never thought I’d say this, but nothing sounds as good as Ichiraku right now.”  Naruto guffawed and voiced his whole-hearted agreement while Hinata simply nodded and smiled.  One of her favorite parts of every day was eating with her friends after training.  The food always tasted better after so much hard work, and dining at Ichiraku always brought her back to the first time Naruto had invited her and Sasuke there after a long morning of training in the summer heat.  That had been their first summer together.

_Has it really been four and a half years?_ Hinata thought wonderingly.  She found herself squeezing Naruto’s hand and receiving a squeeze in return.  Yes, they were going on five years now of being friends.  They had gone from children training in their first year at the academy to some of the strongest genin in the village; even she had to admit that, although Kakashi’s claims of them being at least chūnin level in some ways was pushing it, she felt.  All of them had come so far and survived so much.  _And we’ll keep progressing – together.  No matter what._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

What remained of daylight passed all too quickly following their departure from the Third Training Ground.  Naruto supposed that it was like when you had to wait for certain things.  When the upcoming event was something to look forward to, time tended to crawl by.  When it was something daunting or otherwise disconcerting, an entire day could be gone before you knew it.  It wasn’t that he was precisely nervous about the exam; he was looking forward to it.  But his recent struggles with Kurama’s chakra provided him an extra reason to worry, at least aside from the more important concern that this portion of the test could literally be deadly.  It was his friends that he worried about, as always, but he had also promised Hinata that he wouldn’t disappear again, and he always kept his promises.

Lunch had passed in a flash, with both Hinata and Sasuke marveling at how much ramen he could eat in one sitting.  He couldn’t help it.  Training made him hungry, and Ichiraku’s ramen was so good that he could eat buckets of it for every meal.  He thought that he had done well in restraining himself; there had only been a stack of ten bowls in front of him by the time they left.  And maybe he had helped Hinata finish off her second – and final – bowl.  Honestly, he couldn’t understand how she could function on so little food.  Sasuke had only smirked all the while, having consumed a mere three bowls himself.  Every now and again the jerk offered a snarky comment, such as, ‘I hope you pay for Iruka’s groceries,’ or, ‘I think you could out-eat Chōji.’  Naruto supposed that Sasuke’s perpetually empty stomach was why he scowled so often.

They parted ways after the midday meal.  Sasuke headed back to his apartment to relax for the rest of the day, though not before Hinata got in a bit of teasing about his spending ‘quality time’ with Haku – whatever that was supposed to mean.  After Sasuke left – muttering under his breath until he was out of earshot – Hinata had suggested they take a walk around the inside of the village wall.  Naruto was happy to agree.  He loved spending time with Hinata, whether it was training or eating or just walking.  She made him feel warm inside just by being around; he supposed that was what it meant to love somebody.  It was definitely a part of it, he was certain.

It took some time to stroll the perimeter of Konoha with Hinata – several hours, in fact, judging by the sun.  It sat just above the western horizon as they meandered back towards their starting point, a golden ball that provided little warmth against the winter’s chill.  Naruto didn’t mind the cold much, especially with Hinata’s arm slipped beneath his cloak and wrapped around his waist.  She had told him more than once since he had returned that he felt warmer than she remembered, but he chalked that up to the sudden coming of winter.  Things always felt warmer when it was cold out.  He wasn’t about to do anything to dissuade her from pressing against his side, anyway; it felt too nice.

“Do you think we’ll all be promoted?” Hinata asked as they turned onto a familiar bridge leading towards the inner village.  Conversation had kept up the whole way, moving from training and their success against Kakashi to other things like their friends, if their weapons were properly sharpened, food, and twice to a different type of ‘conversation’ that involved Hinata pushing him into some underbrush.  He didn’t mind any topic – most certainly not the last.  He had thought at first that he would have to be the one to instigate those sorts of things, but she had surprised him in more ways than one since they had confessed to one another.  It was one of the many things about her that made butterflies dance in his stomach.

“Definitely,” he replied confidently.  “I mean, we’re easily the strongest genin in the village, and probably stronger than any other villages’ genin now.  Well, I think Team Gai could give us a run for our money if they’ve been training as hard as we have, but I still think we’d kick their ass– I mean, kick their butts.”  He flashed a sheepish grin at her.  She clicked her tongue, but it sounded more affectionate than chiding.  “I could see why they might not promote me, but you and Sasuke are both a shoe in for sure.”

“Why wouldn’t they promote you?” Hinata asked.  To Naruto, it sounded like she was trying to come off as merely curious, but he could hear the note of chagrin in her tone.  He shrugged.

“I’m not saying that I’m not good enough,” he started carefully, knowing that she would call him out on selling himself short if he had meant that.  “I know I learn fast, and I’m physically the strongest of the three of us.  I can match Sasuke’s speed on my good days, too.  My chakra control is great thanks to you, and I’ve got a crazy amount of the stuff to make up for what I don’t have in variety.  On that note, I can outlast anybody in the village, I bet.” She smiled at him then, a gesture that he readily returned.  Hinata liked it when he noted his own qualities.  “But . . . Tsunade-sama knows about Kurama’s chakra, and I’d be willing to bet a lot more people know by now.  If they think I’m unstable, or just unreliable, they might choose not to promote me.  A chūnin has to be able to think clearly and lead other teams sometimes, and there’s no room for one of my ah . . . one of my ‘episodes’ at a time like that.  I can see them waiting until I figure it out before thinking about promoting me.”

“But that wouldn’t be fair,” Hinata insisted, stopping near the center of the bridge to face him.  She rarely got upset, and much less frequently became angry – unless it was on his behalf.  Right now she certainly seemed halfway between worried and cross, with her brow slightly furrowed and her lower lip firmly between two canines.  She folded her arms and seemed to search for her next words before going on.  “Tsunade-sama refused to help you with the seal.  We already decided that she must have a good reason – she must, Naruto,” she said again.  He wiped the scowl from his face.  “But I can’t see her disallowing your promotion based on that.  She knows that you’re responsible, and she knows that you’re not going to use more of the Kyūbi’s chakra than you can handle.”

“It’s not her that decides though, is it?” He didn’t want to sound down about it, but it was difficult not to.  Becoming a chūnin was the next step in his goal of becoming Hokage one day, and it was kind of depressing thinking that he might be left behind by his friends.  Well, not left behind – he knew that they wouldn’t abandon him.  But if they were promoted and he was passed over, they would be sent off to lead missions while he was likely assigned to a new team of genin.  The prospect made him frown as he watched the icy water flowing beneath the wooden planks underfoot.  “The judges decide.  She’s one of them, sure, but we don’t know how many others there might be, and how many of them might just hate me because of what I am.”

“Naruto . . .” Hinata moved beside him, slipping her fingers between his in a tight grasp.  Her touch felt as warm as ever despite the frigid air.  She looked at him as if at a loss for what to say, but wanting to say something or offer some comfort.  It was enough for him that she wanted to help, and that she was close.

“I’ll just have to show them how amazing I am, and then they won’t have any other choice but to make me a chūnin too.  Right?” He gave her his best grin, already sorry that he had allowed himself to show his dejection.  She shook her head and returned a small, sad smile.

“It’s okay to be afraid, Naruto.  No matter what happens, I’ll be here for you.  We all are – Sasuke, Iruka-sensei, Haku, Kakashi-sensei – all of us.  It’ll all turn out okay.” She shifted close to wrap her arms around his waist, and he barely hesitated in circling his arms around her as well.

“I know.  Thanks, Hinata.”  He kissed the top of her head, and she responded by nuzzling the nape of his neck.  “Let’s head back home.  I’m sure Iruka-sensei could use help with dinner; he said he wanted to make us something special tonight.”  Hinata released him and nodded, brushing her own kiss on his cheek.  He could feel the heat rising in his face as he reached for her hand and started off into the village, but he had long since decided that the blushes might just never fade.  That wasn’t the important thing right now anyway.  What was important was that they were together, and always would be.  _No matter what._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

Iruka had indeed planned something special for them, although it was prepared by the time they were able to arrive home and get cleaned up.  He had gone all out to make their favorites, including red bean soup, grilled squid, fried rice, and even Hinata’s cinnamon rolls for after.  There was an additional surprise after they had finished eating, though it was meant for neither of them.

“Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” Naruto touched his palm to the floor at the center of the kitchen, creating the temporary lines of jutsu-shiki that always came with the technique.  A burst of white smoke cleared almost immediately, sent through an open window by one of Hinata’s very minor Vacuum Palms.  Huang crooned and swept over to Naruto’s shoulder immediately, settling down as if she had never left.  “Heya Huang-san.  Iruka-sensei got you something!”

“You didn’t need to summon her,” Iruka laughed, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck and looking embarrassed.  “But I suppose it would have gone bad otherwise.  Here you go, Huang-san.”  He held out a sizeable flank of raw steak that smelled strongly of . . . something.  Naruto knuckled his nose and made a face.

“Iruka-sensei, what did you put on that?” He glanced at Hinata, who shrugged and stifled a giggle.

“I did a little research,” the chūnin said defensively.  “I could only find legends of phoenixes at the library, but all of the tales say that they eat like any other bird of prey, but also prefer to eat rare resins where they can be found.” He blinked then, eyeing Huang and looking a bit worried.  “Of course, they were just tales.  It’s possible that—”  Abruptly the phoenix spread her wings and departed from Naruto’s shoulder, sweeping across the kitchen and snatching the dangling flank from Iruka in one smooth movement.  She whirled and alighted on the sink faucet, then fixed her gaze on Naruto.

“She says thank you,” Naruto grinned, then nodded at the creature.  “Yeah, you can go back and share it with your dad.  Tell Feng-sama that I said hi, and that I might need him in the next few days.”  Huang tilted her head one way, then the other, and then vanished in a flash of fire that left little specs dancing in Naruto’s vision.

“That was very thoughtful of her,” Hinata commented, still studying the spot where Huang had disappeared from and blinking rapidly.  It seemed that he hadn’t been the only one too slow to close his eyes.  “I’m not sure how she intends to share it with Feng-sama if he’s as big as you say he is, but still nice of her to think of him.”

“They’re each other’s only family, if I understand it correctly,” Iruka put in, turning to start gathering dishes from the table.  “The books I read indicated that the lifespan of something plays into how many offspring it’s able to produce.  If phoenixes really do live forever, then I suspect Huang-san is the only child Feng-sama has ever had, and perhaps the only one he ever will.  It’s no wonder that they’re close.”

“Yeah . . . Families are nice.” Naruto smiled and took Hinata’s hand.  He winked at her, then quirked an eyebrow when her eyes went a little wide and her cheeks flushed.  Had he said something wrong?  No, she was blushing like he had complimented her, or done something that she claimed was particularly thoughtful.  He ran a hand through his spiky tresses, then glanced up to find Iruka with a wide, knowing smirk pasted on his features.  Was it an inside joke that he had missed?

“You two go make sure that you have everything ready for tomorrow.  No, no,” Iruka said, holding up a placating hand towards them.  Both Naruto and Hinata had opened their mouths to protest at the same time.  “Let me clean up.  You both have a hard day tomorrow – several hard days if the last set of exams can be used as an indicator.  I want you to go prepare, then get to sleep.  We can say our farewells in the morning.” He gave them his sternest ‘instructor look.’

“Alright,” Naruto sighed.  He flashed Iruka a grin before turning to leave with Hinata.  “Thanks dad.”  He stopped in surprise for a split second before rushing from the kitchen with Hinata in tow, leaving a shell-shocked Iruka behind.  What had possessed him to say that?

“Was that the first time you’ve ever called him that?” Hinata asked as Naruto shut the door to his room.  “The way he stared . . . I think he was about to cry.”

“I ah . . . I guess so,” he laughed sheepishly.  It had come out so naturally that even now it didn’t sound wrong in his head.  “I guess what he said about families got to me.  I mean, I know who my real dad was, but Iruka’s the one who took me in and raised me.  He’s been around for over half my life now, so it’s kind of like he is my dad in some ways, you know?”  Hinata paused in the act of lowering herself to sit on the edge of his bed, nibbling at the corner of her lips like she did when thinking.

“Nobody can replace the Yondaime as your father, of course – but you know that.  Iruka-sensei, though . . . I’m surprised that you haven’t been calling him ‘dad’ all along.  He’s as kind and caring as any parent should be, and I know he loves you as if you were his own.”

“Yeah, I guess it’s past time I started calling him that, huh?”  He was quiet for a time, thinking while busying his hands with removing his kunai holster and belt to set them atop the dresser.  There wasn’t all that much to consider, he realized.  He had adopted Iruka as his father long ago, just as Iruka had adopted him.  It was a fact of everyday life now, only just verbally recognized.  Shrugging out of his long coat and doffing the long-sleeved shirt, Naruto was halfway through unclipping his body armor when he heard a small cough.  Glancing over one shoulder, he blinked at the sight of Hinata sitting on his bed, her face all but glowing red.  “What’s up?”  She looked a little faint to him, as if she might be coming down with something.

“Um . . .” she started, swallowing once before quickly averting her eyes.  “N-nothing.” He raised an eyebrow, noting the stutter that so rarely infected her speech these days.  The last clasp clicked open and he removed the chain vest, letting it fall to the ground with a clink before he turned fully to Hinata.

“Are you feeling sick?” he asked, unable to keep the concern from lacing his tone.  “If you’re not up to taking the exam tomorrow, we can always wait until next time.  I know Sasuke’s not impatient to become chūnin, and you know I don’t mind.”  He took a step towards her, and wondered if her face had gained even more color.

“N-no!” she stammered, leaning back and raising her hands towards him as if to ward off his approach.  “I-I just . . . I mean you – you’re undressing!”  He blinked at her again, glanced down at his bare chest, then barked out a laugh.

“Hinata, you’ve seen Sasuke and me training shirtless countless times.  Hell, we’ve always shared a tent on missions outside of the village, and I hardly ever sleep with my shirt on.  It gets too hot, even in winter.” He made a face, hoping his light commentary would help Hinata feel more comfortable.  It was difficult to tell, but he thought it helped.  A little.

“We’re in your room!” she insisted, squeezing her eyes shut.  “Together!”  He wasn’t sure what difference that made, but she went on before he could say as much.  “A-and training is one thing, but in the tents I’ve always been a little uncomfortable.  Well, not uncomfortable, but it was awkward for me!  And now we’re here and you’re just . . .” She trailed off, one eye half open now as she peered through her spread fingers at him.  Naruto shook his head.  He didn’t understand at all, but if it made her feel better, he’d put on a shirt until she went to her own room.  Snatching open a drawer, he snatched the first t-shirt he saw before turning to hold it up to her.  It was plain white with the Uzumaki clan symbol embroidered on the front – Hinata had presented it to him on his last birthday, and after some questioning had admitted to doing the embroidery herself.  The symbol was a bit lopsided, and a few of the lines were more wavy than curved – and it was his favorite shirt.

“Putting it on.  Sorry, Hinata.”  He had already shoved one arm into place before her voice stopped him.

“Wait,” Hinata said quickly, and again he looked curiously towards her.  This time he didn’t find her face red at all.  Instead she seemed . . . focused, for some reason, and a little . . . Naruto couldn’t decide why her eyes looked like they did when he was trying something dangerous.  There wasn’t anything to be concerned about that he could see.  She patted the space next to her without taking her eyes from him, and it was then that he noticed her gaze was on his torso, not his face.  “Come here.”  Her tone was soft and steady now, far removed from its recent frantic sound.

“Alright . . .” he said slowly, not sure where the sudden change of mind had come from.  One second she wanted him covered up, and then next she wanted him sitting right next to her and waiting to put the shirt on.  They had been together for a long time, but he decided that it would be another long time until he understood her completely – a _very_ long time.  Naruto plopped down beside her and folded one leg under, leaving the other dangling from the bed so that he could face her.

For a long moment she merely looked at him, staring and almost appearing like she was trying to see inside of him.  Then, very slowly, she reached out and let her fingertips touch lightly against his chest.  A chill ran up Naruto’s entire body, starting in his toes and rising rapidly to the top of his head.  Hinata’s fingers trailed along his skin, and it took a few seconds for him to realize that she was tracing his scars.  The major ones were easy enough to see – the curve of pale, jagged tissue arcing from his right shoulder to right hip was the most obvious, and she traced it with the same amount of care she might use in caressing a newborn.  Slowly, methodically she followed each line and old puncture wound, lingering on some more than others, though following no pattern that Naruto could see.  She found her way to his left bicep and brushed the pallid skin there with a touch gentle enough to have been mistaken for an alighting butterfly.  At last her fingers trailed back to his chest to rest over his heart, her palm pressing against the hard muscles there as if to feel for his heartbeat.

“Everything’s going to be okay this time,” she said at last, moving towards him to lean her forehead against his chest.  “It will be.” It sounded to Naruto like she was still trying to convince herself of that instead of pronouncing it as true.  His arms went around her of their own accord, and he pulled her close into a firm, steady embrace.  He understood now what she had been about earlier – at least, he thought he did.

“I promised, remember?” he said softly, resting his cheek atop her head.  He felt her nod, and he was glad to realize that she was neither sad nor truly afraid.  Worry he could understand; he worried for her safety almost every day, and certainly every moment of a mission.

“Can I . . .” Hinata started, her words a muted mumble against his chest.  “Would it . . . W-would it be okay if . . .” Naruto lifted and tilted his head down to blink at what he could see of her.  Abruptly she raised her eyes to his, and she was very clearly flushing through a determined expression.  “I want to sleep here tonight,” she finished in a rush.  He could nearly feel the heat coming from her cheeks, but he knew that his own must look similar.

“Ah . . . yeah, of course you can,” he answered lamely, lifting a hand to rub at the back of his neck.  He grinned and shrugged, trying to act like it wasn’t a big deal, even though he had felt his heart rate speed up on the instant.  They were just going to be sharing a bed; they had done that plenty of times . . . on accident.  It hadn’t ever been discussed, anyway.  It had just happened, and neither of them thought anything of it the day after outside of an awkward laugh here or there.  His mind wandered to the memories received from one clone in particular, and he felt his face heat up even more.

It was difficult to even consider breaking eye contact at that point.  The temporary embarrassment faded quickly enough, but a different kind of heat replaced that of burning cheeks.  A sort of tension that Naruto had never felt before now existed between them, like a tightly wound cord ready to snap at the slightest increase in pressure.  Only, it wasn’t a _bad_ feeling, although Naruto couldn’t quite decide if it was _good_ either.  It was just _there_ , filling the space between them thicker than any killing intent he had ever felt.  His heart felt like it was trying to beat its way out of his chest.

While the odd force built, Naruto found his thoughts bouncing wildly around, though always on similar topics.  All of the times he and Hinata had been in close proximity seemed to flash through his mind, every kiss and touch emphasized tenfold.  He found himself remembering what it was like seeing her hurt badly in the last chūnin exam in her fight with Neji, how he had anguished within his own subconscious at the thought of never seeing her again while he had been dying.  Every memory was a blur, but each carried with it a similar theme: _need_.  A need to keep Hinata alive and to stay alive for her; a need to be close to her; a need to share everything with her – his feelings, his affections, his experiences.  Above all else there was a need to tell her all of that need, but an almost mocking knowledge that communicating something so profound was impossible.

All at once the tension broke, and before he knew what was happening she had all but leapt for him a fraction of a second before he had been able to move towards her.  Hinata had always been faster than him.  Quick, hot breath preceded her lips, and they felt like fire on his own.  For once he ignored every time one of his fangs scratched her tongue, instead enjoying the familiar semi-sweet metallic taste that came along with each happening.  He tasted it on her neck as well – her neck?  How had he gotten there?  It didn’t matter.  Everything felt constraining, as if the air itself was pressing in on their bodies.  It felt like there was a furnace beneath his own skin.

Some time later Naruto pushed himself back on shaking arms, panting for air while staring down at Hinata.  She lay on her back beneath him, her own breath coming rapidly and causing her chest to rise and fall in a way that made him feel decidedly good, for some reason.  Her ivory skin held a sheen of sweat wherever he looked, which he realized was more places than he had been able to see before.  One of the shoulder straps to her bodice had slipped – or been pulled; he couldn’t remember – to one side and down her arm a bit, giving him a view from that position that increased his already present flush.  He could feel the silken skin of her waist against his wrist from where he had propped himself back up – when had her chainmail and undershirt been pulled loose?  Her dark tresses were spilled over his other hand, which was held pressed into the pillow by the side of her head.  The pillow.  _Pillow?_

The realization of their current position struck him like a fist, but he couldn’t have moved away if he had wanted to; no matter what propriety demanded, he certainly didn’t want to.  Hinata’s eyes were hot alabaster pools, and for the first time he understood what Iruka had meant the one time he had mentioned a man being able to drown in a woman’s eyes.  Naruto felt like he really could fall into those beautiful eyes – the heat behind them might very well pull him in on its own.

“I think . . .” Hinata began breathlessly, and he gave a start.  Her voice breaking the silence seemed to banish the blanket of pressure from around them as quickly as it had come on.  “I think I should . . . get changed in my room.”  Her chest still rose and fell faster than usual, but it was well on its way back to a normal rhythm.  Ninja training had many uses outside of combat.

“Yeah . . . yeah, definitely,” he said quickly, almost tripping over his own words – and self – as he scrambled off of Hinata.  He was a bit ashamed to be relieved at finding that she was no less hurried in slipping from his bed and dashing from the room.  That feeling had been mutual, then.

Naruto nearly fell to the bed before remembering the fresh layer of perspiration covering his face.  Really, how long had they been doing . . . that?  Really they had only kissed – he knew that.  Sure, there had been some nibbling involved as well.  He felt at a tender pinprick on his neck, pulling his fingers away to find flecks of red.  _Okay, maybe a little more than nibbling._ He hoped that he had not inadvertently done the same to her; she couldn’t heal like he could.

He hopped out of bed and entered the adjoining bathroom between their two rooms, quickly washing his face in the sink and patting down the rest of himself with a clean towel.  No sooner had he closed the door coming back to his room than he heard Hinata’s side open and the sink turn on.  It seemed she had come to the same conclusion he had – nobody liked sleeping while sweaty.  He tossed back the covers of his bed and slid between the sheets, closing his eyes and trying to calm his pulse the rest of the way back down.  Honestly, it couldn’t have been _that_ long.  Hours of sparring couldn’t get him this riled up.  _Girls are magical,_ he decided then, though after a moment corrected his own thoughts to, _Hinata is magical._

She came in mere minutes later, switching off the light and padding over in the pitch blackness.  He could feel her standing beside the bed for a few seconds, like the residue of that pressure left over from before.  Before he knew it she was pulling the comforter up over them both and settling in beside him, the warmth from her body immediately felt in the closed space.

Neither of them said a word.  For some reason it felt as if they had already said everything that needed to be said, even if that seemed crazy.  Another chill ran through Naruto when Hinata’s arm snaked over his chest, resting there as she settled against him.  He heard a soft, contented sound near his shoulder that sounded as sleepy as he felt.  He smiled, lifting the arm on the other side of her so that he could take her hand.  Moving to his side so that he could sleep facing her would have been nice, but he didn’t have the heart to shift her from comfort.

“Goodnight, Hinata.  Sleep well . . .” He drifted off almost immediately, but not before deciding that it, really, it wasn’t too warm after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This was originally the first few sections of Chapter 29, but the entire chapter turned out to be over 28k words, so Rhi and I thought it would be best to split it in two. CH29 is currently going through its final round(s) of editing, and should be up in the next day or two. The full/actual A/N will be at the end of that one.
> 
> As an aside for those who might have forgotten: I still keep my chapter progress updated on my fanfiction.net profile, so if you're ever wondering how the next installment is going, feel free to check! If it's not going as quickly as you'd like, you're welcome to shoot me a PM and harass me as well. =P
> 
> See you soon!]


	29. Proving Grounds

Naruto was awake well before dawn, though he made sure to keep very still and tame his racing heart before even taking a breath.  It had taken a few seconds to register that he had woken up comfortably tangled with Hinata beneath his blankets, and a few seconds more to recall last night.  After a minute of mimicking the deep breathing of slumber, he allowed himself to feel her there, curled up against his chest and using his arm as a pillow.  It seemed that he had ended up turning towards her in the night after all.  Said arm was so numb that he couldn’t have moved it if he had wanted to; Hinata looked far too adorable to jostle from sleep just for his own comfort.  Sure, maybe his arm might have been itching – if he had retained any feeling in it – from the bit of saliva that had undoubtedly collected from the corner of her mouth.  And it was a distinct possibility that the few strands of her disheveled hair had been caught in her lips for most of the night.  But she was still so damn cute that he couldn’t help but lean over to plant a light kiss on her nose. ****

“Mm . . .” She stirred and murmured at the soft contact, her eyelashes fluttering open to blink sleepily at the grey light seeping past the curtains at the foot of the bed.  Just as it had him, it appeared to take a few seconds for the situation to come back to her, but unlike him she merely sighed and nestled closer.  “Good morning . . .” she sighed.

“Morning,” Naruto replied with a smirk.  “Sorry for waking you, but I think we should get up and ready before Iruka-sensei decides to be our alarm clock.”  She did color at the suggestion that they might be discovered, but still seemed none too hurried in nipping his neck and ghosting from the bedroom.  Hinata lived up to her and Tenten’s lofty standards for a Konoha kunoichi; he didn’t even hear the door click shut after she had departed.

It took Naruto just minutes to prepare.  Clothes were as easy as donning a fresh set, the bandages about the bottoms of his pant legs taking the most time since he was not yet practiced in wrapping them.  Once his jika-tabi were pulled on and buckled securely, he retrieved his kunai holster and belt pouch, refilling both with standard supplies before securing them in place.  He wasn’t entirely comfortable with not being allowed anything else, but there must be a reason.  Nobody would be excited about that reason when it was finally revealed, he suspected.

It came as no surprise that Iruka was already in the kitchen by the time Naruto exited his room, although he made sure to school his expression to make certain that nothing was given away.  It wasn’t as if he had anything to hide – not exactly, anyway.  His adopted father had only cautioned about putting themselves in ‘that kind of situation,’ which meant that they were allowed to at their own discretion.  Back then Naruto had been embarrassed and even put off by the idea, but after experiencing a taste of it – quite literally – he was definitely coming around to it.  Sort of.  The whole idea of . . . _that_ . . . was still foreign to him, but now at least he was willing to explore the thought some more.  Maybe that was what Iruka had been warning about.

“Good morning, Naruto,” the man said cheerily, banishing any fears that he might know what had gone on through the night.  Iruka turned to greet him, and Naruto had to stifle a laugh.  The chūnin was wearing a pair of fuzzy blue slippers over his bare feet, along with a set of matching pajamas complete with a lopsided sleeping cap.  A jarringly pink apron and set of oven mitts completed the attire, creating a truly comical spectacle standing atop the tile floor.

“Good morning Iruka-sensei,” Hinata giggled, stepping in beside Naruto.  It seemed that she had no qualms with laughing, and so laugh Naruto did.

“What?” Iruka asked indignantly, the tip of his nightcap seeming to bristle along with his pride.  “I needed a new apron and pair of oven mitts, and these were on sale!”  No amount of explaining or protesting would get Naruto to cease his fit of mirth until he was good and ready, which took a at least a full minute.  He and Hinata were very nearly holding each other up by the end of it, wiping away tears and beaming at their former instructor.

“You’re the best, Iruka-sensei.” Naruto nearly hiccoughed on a chuckle while trying to get that out, but Iruka seemed to take it as sincerely as it was meant, grinning back at them and waggling a flamboyantly pink-clad hand at them.

“Come on you two.  It’s already after six, and you need to eat a hearty breakfast before I’ll let you leave here.”  Naruto was more than happy to comply with that.

The meal was a brief but enjoyable affair, filled with lighthearted jests and Iruka’s words of encouragement for the upcoming exam.  Most of what he had to tell them sounded like a parent utterly confident in his children, and Naruto appreciated it all the more because of that.

“Don’t forget your cloaks,” Iruka said at last as they headed for the entry hall.  “The badlands will be covered in snow right now, but I’d take the reversible ones just in case.  You never know if the terrain will change, or if the exam will last long enough to allow a thaw.  Naruto nodded as if he hadn’t already been reaching for the indicated garment hanging on a peg beside Hinata’s, throwing it over his shoulders with the white side out before clasping it.  Iruka watched the heavy woolen cloth settle around him and Hinata, nodding once before stepping forward and pulling them both into a fierce hug.  “Good luck you two.  Try not to give me a panic attack during this set of exams, will you?”

“Yes, sensei,” they mumbled in unison, hugging back just as hard.  “We’ll all make chūnin for sure!” Naruto added as he pushed back, giving Iruka a broad grin.  The man’s hand settled on Naruto’s head and ruffled his hair fondly, the action repeated for Hinata.

“I know you will.” Iruka swiped a tear from the corner of one eye and made a shooing gesture with both hands.  “Kakashi told you to be there early, remember?  Go on, go on.  Make me proud, you two!”  The last Naruto heard called from behind him as he leapt from the balcony outside.  He planned to do exactly that, and more.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“Looks like we weren’t the only ones looking to get a head start,” Naruto observed as he and Hinata approached the main gate.  In truth he had expected at least one or two teams to be out this early, but not every member of the so-called Konoha Twelve.  He thought that name was a little funny, especially considering that Team Gai had been lumped in with the newer graduating class, but he supposed every village had a particularly strong group of genin on hand.  So far only Team Gai could give him and his teammates a run for their money, he thought, but it had been a long time since he had seen the rest in action.

He landed hand-in-hand with Hinata by the guard post, and they both waved to Kotetsu and Izumo before looking around more closely.  Every member of Team Ten was present – even Shikamaru, surprisingly enough for this hour.  Gai seemed to be admonishing his team about the upcoming exam, though with all of the hand gestures and poses it seemed to be more of a lively pep talk than a cautioning.  Sakura, Kiba, and Shino were just passing through the gate when the pink haired kunoichi stopped and turned abruptly, staring off towards the main street.  It only took a moment to realize why, and Naruto couldn’t help but smirk when he saw what she was now staring at.

Sasuke stood with Haku where the broad central avenue opened up to the entrance square, and it wasn’t difficult to discern their topic of conversation despite nobody being close enough to overhear.  Sasuke was scowling off to one side, and even at that distance Naruto could see a bit of red in his friend’s face.  Haku was leaning towards him intently, wearing a concerned expression and speaking very fast if his lips gave any indication.  It didn’t appear to be an argument, exactly, although at the very least it was some kind of disagreement.  A whole minute passed without a single word from Sasuke, and then Haku suddenly seemed to break off mid-sentence and leap at the other boy, tackling him to the ground in a _very_ forceful hug.  Naruto snickered.

“He’s probably as worried for Sasuke as Iruka is for us,” Hinata said with no small amount of compassion.  Naruto had long since come to realize that she always empathized with people, although it wasn’t difficult for him to understand where Haku was coming from either, especially after a few weeks – and one particularly intense evening – of worrying himself.  He nodded solemnly, giving her hand another squeeze just before Sasuke approached, dusting himself off and grumbling under his breath.

“He wanted me to promise not to do anything reckless,” the dour youth muttered.  He continued when Naruto only raised an eyebrow, and Hinata smiled fondly at Haku over Sasuke’s shoulder.  “I didn’t agree; if there’s anywhere we might need to be reckless, it’s at these exams.  No reason to make a promise I’m not going to keep . . .” He trailed off, and the slight tint of a blush that had been present since his approach darkened noticeably.  “Oh for the love of–”

“Sasuke-kun!” Sakura’s voice called from their right.  Naruto couldn’t help but laugh.  The way his friend sighed and resignedly shoved his hands into his pockets would have been enough to bring on a grin, but knowing what was in store for the other boy now nearly had him tittering.

“We’ll let you walk with Sakura-san,” Naruto said lightly, patting his friend’s shoulder.  “See you at the rendezvous, Sasuke!”  The glower he received at the ill-concealed jibe was priceless.

“That wasn’t very nice, Naruto,” Hinata chided as they passed beyond the walls.  She sounded half serious, and half like she wanted to break into a fit of giggles.  He noted the corners of her lips twitching upwards in the beginnings of an amused smile, but was unable to comment further.  Movement in his peripheral vision had him tensed immediately, and one hand had already reached for a kunai before his eyes belayed any reason for caution – or so he hoped.

“May we walk with you, Uzumaki Naruto?”  Gaara stepped out of the long morning shadows and onto the broad road, his flat green eyes focused on Naruto.  Kankurō and Temari were flanking him as usual, although neither looked as agitated as they usually did.  As far as Naruto could tell, they must have been idling beneath the trees just outside of the gate, waiting to catch him as he left for the next exam.  That thought caused a bit of uneasiness to creep in, but he shook it off without a second thought.  Gaara might still be a little creepy, and his siblings were jerks sometimes, but they seemed somehow . . . different.  Despite the presence of his sand gourd, Gaara’s step seemed lighter, and the other two no longer appeared wary of their brother’s every move.  He offered a casual shrug and a grin, just like he might to any friend.

“Sure.  We’re just heading to the second exam.”  He blinked as they fell in step beside him and Hinata, an unexpected thought forming on the tail end of his greeting.  “Are you three competing?”  That seemed impossible considering the circumstances involving Suna and the previous exams, but the way they were dressed and geared told him otherwise.  Gaara simply nodded without looking at him, but Temari took up the explanation in her brother’s stead.

“The Hokage has been talking to an envoy from our village for a while now.  I don’t know all of the details, but they agreed that the Sand was manipulated by Orochimaru and isn’t to be held entirely responsible for what happened.  I’m sure we’ll be paying reparations,” she added quickly, likely in response to Hinata’s pursed lips.  “And artisans have been arriving from our country to help with rebuilding.  But since the Kazekage was assassinated and impersonated, and it’s come to light that Orochimaru was behind the plot all along, I guess they’re actually working on forging an alliance between our villages.”

“An alliance?” Naruto blinked.  Alliances weren’t unheard of between hidden villages, but Iruka had explained the circumstances revolving around Konoha and Suna.  The daimyō of the Land of Wind had apparently been cutting off funding for the Hidden Sand, and instead using shinobi from the Leaf to accomplish missions.  That bitterness had supposedly been a major factor in the decision to invade Konoha, and Naruto couldn’t imagine that an alliance would be popular with either village.  After theirs had been so recently attacked, the attitude towards Suna wasn’t positive in the least.  And after years of being spurned only to suffer a defeat and be forced to pay reparations, the Sand couldn’t be thrilled about the prospect either.  He said as much, and it was Kankurō who replied this time.

“It’s far from an even coalition,” the older boy said gruffly, shifting the strap across his chest that held the puppet on his back.  “It’s more of a tentative partnership, and your side has more to offer than ours.  And . . . rightly so, I guess,” he added after a moment’s pause, though it came grudgingly.  “But you’re wrong about our village – mostly, anyway.  Some of it’s true, but most are more eager to see peace and prosperity than revenge.  Concord between our villages will be a boon to both economies due to the new trade and lowered risk of caravans being attacked along the routes.  Other nations will be less likely to attack openly allied villages too, since assaulting one means provoking the other as well.  So we get increased security to focus on rebuilding.”

“When you think about it,” Naruto began slowly, furrowing his brow as he did just that, “There aren’t really any disadvantages to allying with each other, are there?”  Kankurō shrugged noncommittally, but Temari gave a firm nod.

“Other nations could see it as a threat and band together as well,” Hinata put in, earning her surprised looks from the Sand siblings.  Even Gaara’s gaze flicked to her for an instant.  She went on with only the slightest flush, though Naruto felt the pressure on his hand increase.  “It’s what caused the Second Shinobi World War, in a way.  When factions begin forming in one land, others band together for protection, and just the tension can spark conflicts that can lead to war.”  Even Naruto was looking at her now, and he was sure that his features communicated as much surprise as he felt.  Hinata was smart – hell, she was more intelligent than anybody their age that he knew, barring Shikamaru – but he hadn’t known that she was a history buff.  She went right on as if nobody was looking at her, staring intently at nothing as they walked on.  “There’s also the threat of espionage.  As villages begin to trust one another more, they can let their guard down and reveal too much, and one side could take advantage.  Then there’s the fact that dealing in a friendly fashion with one village can ostracize another that you used to trade with because of existing animosity, and . . .” She trailed off then, apparently having realized that she had been nearly lecturing about politics to a small crowd of abashed onlookers.  “Oh, um . . . I do think the treaty is a good idea, though . . .”

“Yeah . . . us too,” Temari said weakly, eyeing Hinata up and down as if seeing her for the first time.  “That’s all ah . . . I guess that’s all true, but I’m sure the higher-ups will figure all of that out.  I think it’s safe to say that we’re allies now, and better off for it.”

“Yeah, definitely,” Naruto agreed, though his mind was already straying from the topic at hand.  “What about you, Gaara?  What did they decide about you and Shukaku, and that new seal Jiraiya put in place?  And how do you feel now?”

“My village was eager to have their weapon back,” Gaara responded in his normal monotone.  “Even if that weapon no longer functions to the same capacity, it is far from impotent.”  He raised a hand, and a trickle of sand flowed from the gourd to swirl about his fingers.  “Sunagakure still retains its bijū, however unavailable it may be, and they are more glad than they let on to have Shukaku’s influence sealed away.  I feel . . .” He paused, allowing the sand to coalesce in his palm into what appeared to be a tiny statue of a kneeling woman.  “I feel . . . rested, and at peace.  These feelings are strange to me, but I believe I will grow to be fond of them.  Fondness . . .” Gaara seemed to like to think quite a bit before speaking, and now the silence stretched on to the point of awkwardness.

“We’re glad to have him back,” Temari put in with a small smile, laying a hand on her younger brother’s arm.  Gaara blinked and looked up at her, clearly confused, which only made her smile widen.  Even Kankurō was smirking a little, though he seemed to be trying not to.

“I’m glad you’re doing better,” Naruto said simply, sharing a grin with the rest.  “I’d like to be friends with you – all of you, and Suna too.  I don’t really like the idea of being enemies with any village, even if we can’t all get along.  There’d be no need for shinobi if that were the case.”  He laughed, but for some reason couldn’t put any feeling behind it.  Hinata’s fingers gripped tightly between his own, and they lapsed into a more comfortable silence then, if not an entirely serene one.

The quiet persisted for the remainder of their short journey, even after they turned off of the road and took to the trees in order to make better time; it was difficult to hold a conversation while jumping between branches anyway.  It was a leisurely pace and used a minimal amount of chakra, but it still took them the ten kilometer distance in a little over twenty minutes.  They landed as a group where the trees suddenly stopped at the edge of a shallow ravine, along the bottom of which a tent had been erected.  It was more of a valley than a true canyon, but as Naruto looked out at the stark landscape beyond it, he could tell that it was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

“Oy, you five!” a woman barked from below.  “Quit gawking and get down here to register if you plan to participate!  Don’t dawdle, or I’ll use you as target practice!”  A loud guffaw echoed up to them, and Naruto beamed back down.  He had always liked Anko, even if she was a bit weird.

They weren't the first to arrive, although Naruto hadn't anticipated they would be with the time spent dawdling around the gates.  Even so, there were only two other teams present, and both seemed to stir from their places of rest when he and the others landed in front of the tent.  One team of genin was from the Hidden Rain judging by their headbands, and each of the members appeared to be wearing a sour expression that did not fall too far short of baleful.  The two boys and girl casually went back to their own conversation after only a second's pause to sneer.  The other group held three blank-faced youths – all female – sporting hitai-ate of the Hidden Cloud, although it was obvious at a glance that their flat expressions were all for show.  Their eyes practically glittered as Naruto and his party passed by on their way to the tent, and he could feel their combined killing intent from the dozen or so meters away.  Those were no run-of-the-mill kunoichi.

"Competition seems . . . interesting," Temari commented wryly, giving the trio of girls a hard look before sniffing dismissively.  "At least it might be more of a challenge than the last exam's cakewalk."

"Neither of those teams are weak," Kankurō muttered.  "It looks like each village took care in selecting genin this time around.  I wouldn't be surprised to find a chūnin-level shinobi among the teams – maybe even an actual chūnin." Naruto looked at him askance, but the older boy only shrugged.  "It's been known to happen when one village has a particular grudge or agenda, or so I've heard."

"They can throw a jōnin at us for all I care," Naruto said dismissively.  He chose not to see Hinata's raised eyebrow, the one that she used to silently – though not unkindly – call out his confidence when it strayed too close to hubris.  Well, this wasn't being overly prideful.  They had proven that they could defeat Kakashi, and he was an elite among the higher ranks of shinobi.  Still . . . She would probably like it better if he turned it into a compliment of somebody else instead of bragging.  "I mean, I know you three could handle that, and I'm sure we'd manage."  Hinata's eyebrow went down, and he thought that he saw the hint of a knowing, amused twinkle behind those white eyes.  Gaara joined his siblings in a curt nod, not able to say more as they had reached the tent opening.

"Well if it isn't the destructive duo," Anko whistled, giving Naruto and Gaara a once-over. Naruto tensed, and he saw Gaara's eyes narrow slightly out of the corner of his own.  The kunoichi barked a laugh and showed them her palms in a placating gesture.  "Just a joke, kids; that's all water under the bridge now, eh?  It's good to see the two of you getting along, as a matter of fact!" She smacked Naruto's back good-naturedly, though stopped short of doing the same to Gaara as if thinking better of the idea. "Where's the grumpy kid – Sasuke, right?  Can't sign up without your full team.  You three can go on in," she continued, addressing the siblings.

"He'll be here soon," Naruto muttered, trying not to glare at the proctor.  Honestly, enough people were more than upset about what had happened during the previous exams, both regarding the two jinchūriki and the conflict between Hidden Villages.  He knew that Anko just had a weird sense of humor, but it still rankled a little for her to bring it up so casually.

"Is that him, with the pink-haired girl hanging all over him?" she asked brightly, grinning up at the ravine's rim.  Sure enough, when Naruto turned to look he could clearly make out Sasuke standing on the ridge line with Sakura pressed against his side so tightly that she might have been sewn on.  Hinata clicked her tongue, as if the sound alone was reprimand enough for such antics in public.  The sound drew his attention, and he was just able to see the last veins receding around her eyes.  The pair above was far enough off that their specific antics couldn't be told with regular eyesight, but her eyes were far from ordinary.

"Same thing as with Haku, probably," Naruto said with a shrug.  "The exam will be dangerous for both of them, right?" Hinata favored him with a small smile, which he returned with a self-conscious one of his own.  He tried to think about how other people felt, but it didn't come nearly as naturally as it did for her.

"I hate you guys," Sasuke muttered darkly, appearing next to them in a flicker of motion. "Did you really have to leave me back there with her?"

"Don't you like her?" Naruto asked curiously, watching as Team Eight arrived and joined Sakura by a rocky outcrop.  It didn't make much sense to him that Sasuke could like somebody – well, two somebodies – and be so annoyed by them all of the time.  Naruto was beginning to think that his friend just found everybody annoying – except for Hinata and himself, of course.

"She talks a lot, and is too . . . forward." Sasuke rolled his eyes at Hinata when she stifled a giggle.  "She is.  At least Haku doesn't—" His teeth actually clicked shut in his haste to cut off the thought, and his scowl did little to offset his growing flush.  Hinata did let a laugh escape then, and Naruto tittered as well.

“Enough lollygagging you three,” Anko said crisply, clapping her hands together.  Gaara, Temari, and Kankurō were already out and gathered off to one side, each holding a backpack that they had not gone in with.  “In with you before I go tell that Sakura girl that you’ve been mooning at her.” She gave Sasuke a wicked grin.  He paled slightly, coughed, and with apparent nonchalance led the way into the tent.  Naruto shared a conspiratorial look with Hinata before following after his friend, deciding that perhaps Anko wasn’t so bad after all.

The canvas flap closed, leaving them in a sizeable open space lit by torches at each corner and a brazier at the center, though the last was presumably more for warmth than light.  Two chūnin stood just a few steps inside, one wearing a bored expression over his bland features while the other only stared at them with one hard eye, the other – or lack thereof – hidden behind an eye patch.  Despite the puckered scar trailing down from the patch and pulling the corner of his mouth into a permanent grimace, he seemed to attempt a smile at them before turning towards a pile of rucksacks.

“Names?” the nondescript man asked, his monotone voice adding to his appearance of plainness.

“Uzumaki Naruto.”

“Hyūga Hinata.”

“Uchiha Sasuke.”

The man blinked, glanced up at them, then shook his head.  He made no further indication of his displeasure, but Naruto bristled at the subtle disapproval.  The silent pressure of Hinata’s hand was all that stopped him from commenting on it.

“That would be Team Seven, then.  Here are your supplies,” the aggravatingly insipid chūnin said with a lazy gesture towards his partner.  The scarred shinobi was holding the straps of three packs that looked identical to those the Suna siblings had been examining outside.  He handed one to each of them, saying nothing, but offering that odd half-smile at each of them in turn.  Naruto grinned back appreciatively, glad that at least one of the two was nice.  “I’ll need you to sign next to your names,” the other droned, offering his clipboard to Hinata first.  “It’s a standard consent form, just like the ones you signed before the second exam last time.  By signing you agree to release both the proctors and Konoha from any liability should you die during the exam.”  His voice – apart from sounding naturally dull – carried with it the impression that he was resigned to repeat that same line far more times than he would have liked.  Hinata took the proffered clipboard and small brush with a smile no different than the one she had offered the other man, applying her signature with a delicate and precise hand before passing both items to Naruto.  She really did seem to think the best of almost everybody.  He and Sasuke quickly signed their names, his own in a blocky but neat enough hand while his friend’s nearly rivaled Hinata’s for precision, though with a noticeably sharper hand and added flourish.  “The rest will be explained to you later.  You’re dismissed.”

“Wouldn’t have killed him to be more cordial,” Sasuke muttered after they had exited.

“You’re one to talk,” Naruto teased, leading the way to a small boulder that was on the opposite side of the tent from the Suna team.  The exam had begun, as far as he was concerned, and they were adversaries now.  “He was kind of a jerk, though.”

“He was just doing his job,” Hinata said patiently.  This had been a matter of course for her ever since she had become more confident, mediating between her friends and trying to get them to see the best in people.  It worked . . . sometimes.

“He can do his job and be less condescending.  That look he gave us was little less than rude.” Sasuke wasn’t about to be turned from his mood so easily, and so Hinata only shrugged before adding a final thought.

“We don’t know him; he might be like that for a reason.” She left the implication unspoken: maybe somebody close to him had died during the last exam.  Their role in the battle was well known by all, and so it wasn’t entirely uncommon these days for them to receive second – and none-too kind – glances.

“Well, let’s see what they gave us.  We weren’t told not to open them, so it must be okay.”  Naruto spared a look towards the three other teams just in case, finding that the Rain and the Cloud’s packs had the rumpled looks of being opened, and Suna was currently rummaging through their own.  Well, Temari and Kankurō were, and Gaara seemed just to be watching.  Some things didn’t change, it seemed.

The contents of each pack were identical, down to the very last soldier pill – two had been included in every one.  There were two filled canteens, a large square tarp, a flare, and eight packages of standard shinobi field rations in each backpack.  The meals were labeled simply as “Meal” or “Supplement,” with six of the former and two of the latter.  All in all it didn’t appear to be anything remarkable, and they were just beginning to discuss the purpose when Team Ten sauntered over.

"Yo," Shikamaru drawled as he approached, stifling a yawn.  "I guess you three have figured out what the next exam is by now."  He nodded to their packs, then shifted the strap of the one on his shoulder with a grimace.  "I figured that the second exam would be another survival test, but I can't see another goal like we had last time." Naruto quirked an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" he asked, glancing to each of his teammates to see if they understood.  They shook their heads; it seemed that Shikamaru had worked out more than they had been able to in a more limited time frame.  The other boy's own eyebrow lifted.  It seemed that he had expected more from them, but he gave no further sign of it as he started to explain.

"It's clear that these are the only supplies we'll be given; there's no other tent set up, and nowhere to hide anything else that might be considered an objective, unless they brought scrolls to summon other items with."  He considered that a moment, scratching behind one ear and starring off into the distance before shaking his head.  "So if this is it, it's a straight survival test where we'll be pitted against one another, and either drop out before we die or fight over supplies until the time limit is reached.  There won't be much to scavenge or hunt out there, so we'll probably be forced to take each other's food to survive." He stated that all in a matter-of-fact manner, as if he was discussing the weather.  In truth it was very similar to having to steal scrolls from one another, but this seemed . . . different in some way to Naruto.

"That seems wrong," Naruto said, wrinkling his nose in distaste.  "If we had an objective to shoot for then I'd be all for it, but if we're just supposed to beat each other and steal food . . ."

"Seems a bit savage," Sasuke remarked, eyeing his own satchel as if seeing it for the first time.  "I get how a real fight for survival could test our resolve and push us mentally as well as physically, but there should be more elements to make this less . . ."

"Cruel," Hinata finished for him, and then went on to surprise them.  "But not any more so than the last time, I think.  Alternative objective or no, we're still expected to seek out and fight one another.  This is just more honest and straightforward.  However we feel about it, it is more efficient in testing our skills and willingness to be shinobi."  Shikamaru considered her for a time, then nodded thoughtfully.

"I guess so.  Still as troublesome as last time."

"At least the first exam wasn't as boring," Ino huffed, striding up behind her teammate with Chōji in tow.  "That stupid written test was easy compared to this time."

"What happened in the first exam?  Kakashi-sensei didn't have time to tell us yesterday."  He left out the reason why that was; aside from the fact that Kakashi had instructed them not to, they had agreed to keep it as a secret in order to veil their strength relative to other teams.  If people learned that they had beaten the infamous Copy Ninja – even if it had taken all three of them – it could cause problems.

"It was a maze," Chōji crunched through a mouthful of chips.  "We had to go through and solve puzzles and stuff.  I ran out of snacks halfway through," he added in a serious tone.  Snacks were always important to him and his stamina, or so he claimed.

"It wasn't very difficult," Ino said with a too-casual shrug.  A flat look from Shikamaru deflated her a bit, and he took over the explanation without too long a pause.

"They had a giant maze set up with obstacles designed to test our teamwork.  Nothing dangerous, only a few things made to look treacherous, and some big puzzles that required all of us to work together to solve."  It sounded kind of interesting to Naruto, or at least more involved than the first exam they had taken before.  "Anyway, it was challenging, or at least would be for groups with poor cohesion or really poor problem solving skills.  Only seventeen teams made it through."

"That's not very many compared to last time," Sasuke mused, earning him a shrug in response.  Ino gave him what Naruto suspected was her most winning smile, but it seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever.

"I expect that they wanted to make certain that there were no preliminary matches this year.  Between the last test and this one's apparent design, I'd be willing to bet we don't see more than four or five teams get through." Naruto nodded.  That made sense enough, trying to limit the teams the got through to the very best right off the bat.  There had been a number of extremely weak teams last time, and they had quickly gotten themselves defeated or killed.  Whittling them down off the bat before a forced survival test would be the easiest path to a third exam clear of preliminaries.  It still seemed kind of harsh to him, but if all of the villages had agreed on it, then there was nothing to be done.

"I expect to see you three at the finals," Naruto said jovially, extending a fist to Shikamaru.  The other boy blinked at it for a second, then smirked and rapped his knuckles against Naruto’s.  Chōji did the same with a friendly smile, but Ino only sniffed, apparently still feeling the sting of being ignored by the object of her affections.

“Alright, that’s everybody!” Anko boomed over the buzz of conversation.  “Gather ‘round over here; it’s nearly eight!”

“Here we go,” Naruto said quietly, shouldering his pack and retaking Hinata’s hand.  She nodded while still facing ahead, then extended her free hand to Sasuke.  He glanced at her, then spared a look towards where Team Eight had gathered.  With a sigh he clapped his palm against hers and held on as they moved back towards the tent.

Anko stood in front of the canvas opening, surveying the gathering genin with a look of mild impatience.  She held a long scroll between her fingers and was tapping it rhythmically against the palm of her other hand.  It was the scroll containing all of the participants’ names, Naruto realized.  He got the feeling that she would have been watching the seconds tick by had she been wearing a watch.

“It’s about time,” she barked when the last team crowded around – the group from Kumo had made a point to appear unhurried.  “Now, as most of you have likely guessed by now, this exam will be fairly straightforward.  Each of you have been given supplies that will last you for two days while out in the badlands.  You will be expected to survive out there for six days.

“Now, for those of you who participated in the previous exam, there will be a key difference from here on out that was not present before.”  That got Naruto’s attention, and he could almost feel the others shifting and tensing around him.  Nobody liked surprises when it came to life-and-death scenarios.  “If you decide to forfeit at any time, you may do so _without penalty to your team._ ”  She allowed that message to sink in for a few seconds, and Naruto took full advantage to allow his mind to race through possibilities.  If an individual could drop out without disqualifying his or her team, then it meant that anybody lacking confidence could leave as soon as the test began, giving the remainder of their team a supply advantage, yet also leaving them one person down.  It added a new dynamic that could give certain teams a type of advantage from the outset, or allow participants to leave if they became too injured to go on.  Anko continued after a few seconds, giving voice to what most of them had likely been considering.  “The flares included in your supplies are for that purpose; I suggest keeping them on your person instead of with everything else, in case your packs get taken and you’re still alive afterwards.

“The area in which you will be confined includes most of the badlands north of here, within a barrier that will be held up during the whole of the six day period.  If any genin is suspected of trying to leave the area by force or without having signaled a desire to forfeit, they will be incapacitated and disqualified, as will the rest of their team.” She paused again, trying to make eye contact with everyone present before going on.  “We have taken extensive precautions to ensure that there is no foul play or outside interference with this exam as there was last time.  The bulk of our peacekeepers and off-duty shinobi will be at high alert for the duration of these exams, both tasked with watching you and watching for potential outside threats.  Rest assured, we will not allow anything to go amiss.

“Lastly, we have set up two oases within the perimeter.  These locations have fresh water and a small amount of additional supplies within them, enough to see one team to the end if they manage to find and secure them.  The whole zone is fourteen kilometers across, and these havens are small and hidden, but they do provide an additional objective and point of strategy to work with.

“That is all.  It’s up to you to determine how to make it to day six.  This exam will end at noon on the sixth day – one hundred and forty-eight hours after you are released, which will be in approximately thirty minutes.  Good luck.”  With that she turned, the wind whipping her long beige coat as she began assigning chūnin to take teams to their starting points.

“Looks like there is a little more to it,” Naruto murmured to his friends while they waited for their proctor to be assigned.  “With Hinata’s eyes, I think we could find one of those oases pretty easy and just take it easy for a few days.  What do you think?”  Hinata nodded, though her lips were compressed slightly as if she was thinking worried thoughts.

“We’re stronger than most of the other teams,” Sasuke put in, scanning the thinning crowd with his Sharingan.  “Of the ones we’re familiar with, I’d say only Team Gai and maybe Gaara’s team might be able to keep up with us.  The others are wildcards, but we know how strong we are compared to even the best genin.  I say we stay out in the open, avoid fights with Team Gai and those Sand siblings, but try to eliminate as many others as we can.”  Naruto shrugged noncommittally, not really in favor of one or the other.  He knew that Sasuke wasn’t being cocky; he felt the same way.  Confidence was different than arrogance, Iruka had told him once.

“I think we should do both,” Hinata suggested, her own kekkei genkai activated and being used to examine the competition.  She would be able to tell if any of them possessed any special weapons or strange tools on them.  “Judging by how much they changed this time around, it’s possible that we might not have a full month before the finals this time.  I think we should locate an oasis early, but use it as a base of operations where we can rest when not hunting other teams.  No killing unless we have to,” she put in, giving both of her teammates a stern glare.  Naruto and Sasuke both nodded without hesitation; unnecessary killing wasn’t something any of them were interested in.  “When we defeat a team, we’ll use one of their flares to signal their forfeit, take their supplies and leave.  Agreed?”  They were all in accord on that point as well, of course.

In short order they were being led to their starting position by the one-eyed shinobi from earlier.  He still said nothing, only motioned for them to follow before springing nimbly up the slope of the ravine opposite the one they had descended.  They traveled about three kilometers before making a sharp turn, stopping after another kilometer where they met another shinobi who was sitting cross-legged on the hard ground.  A scroll was unraveled in front of him, upon which an elaborate design of jutsu-shiki had been prepared.  The man seemed to be concentrating, though on what Naruto couldn’t tell.  Their guide put a finger to his lips to command silence, and then they waited.

Twenty minutes seemed like much longer a time when you had nothing to do but wait.  Naruto sat with his teammates, performing a more advanced chakra exercise that Kakashi had taught them only recently.  Sasuke began by exhaling into his palm, creating a small flickering flame that hovered just above his skin.  He offered it to Hinata, who reached for the fire and trickled her own chakra into it until more of hers maintained the technique than Sasuke’s.  After only a few seconds the little light was now floating over her palm, and she moved it carefully towards Naruto.  Even after years of practice he wasn’t as accomplished at such fine chakra control, and several times the flame wavered dangerously.  Whereas his friends could easily extinguish the fire without being careful, he ran more risk of feeding it far too much chakra and letting it run out of control.  More than once he had walked away from this training with a singed hand, as did the unfortunate partner that had passed it to him.  He tried not to notice Hinata smiling at him as he concentrated; for some reason she liked to watch him when he was focusing on something.  After a much longer time than the initial transfer, Naruto got control of the flame, sighing as he removed it from Hinata’s care.

“It’s time,” the chūnin said gruffly after the twenty-first round.  Naruto clenched his fist around the flame to extinguish it before it flared up from his loss of concentration, then got to his feet with the others.  The other ninja’s eyes were open now, and a blue-white barrier had risen in front of him directly over the scroll.  It extended out of sight to either direction, maintaining a height of about ten meters while dipping down into each crevasse that it came across.  As far as Naruto could tell, it was unbroken despite the rough terrain.

“I will create a hole for you to pass through,” the man on the ground said, nodding to his left.  “You have one minute now.  Be ready – I will only open it for a few seconds.”

“Ready?” Naruto asked quietly, shifting his feet on the cold rock.  Sasuke grunted in the affirmative, and Hinata squeezed his hand by way of response.  He grinned.  It was time to prove themselves again, but this time they were far more prepared.

“Go!”  The bottom of the barrier bent upwards into an arch, creating a space just tall and wide enough for them to pass through one at a time.  Naruto surged forward without a second thought, speeding through the opening with Sasuke and Hinata on his heels.  The second exam had begun.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

The landscape was more or less what they had anticipated from the first sighting above the basecamp, but noticeably more barren than expected.  With a name like ‘The Badlands’ they had assumed it would be cold and desolate, but not nearly so scoured as to reveal no signs of life.  As Naruto led his teammates across the cold rock, not even the cry of a crow or skittering of a lizard broke the stillness around them.  Light patches of snow covered a few ridgelines, and even more had accumulated in the ravines where sunlight never touched.  It was an eerie, empty place – empty, save for the presence of sixteen other teams of genin.

The first half-hour passed without incident as Naruto and his friends searched for water.  The same logic that had driven them to find a stream during the last exam applied here: in any survival test, the ones who secured a source of water secured their own longevity.  With this in mind they set to searching each shallow valley and cleft, knowing that even the barest trickle water would need to pass through one of them.  They each sent out a Shadow Clone to serve as outriders, instructed to spiral outward in different directions to both aid in the search and warn of an incoming enemy.

“Finally,” Naruto sighed, touching down at the bottom of a particularly deep gully.  The sky was overcast, hiding the bulk of the sun’s light, and the steep walls of the canyon made it even darker below.  A tiny rivulet cut its way through the center of the narrow space, little pieces of ice appearing regularly as the water gurgled by.  It wasn’t much, but it was more than enough for their purposes.  “Want to hang out here for a bit and use more clones to search for the oasis?”

“Fine by me,” Sasuke said, dropping his pack and removing both of his canteens.  He set them down and crossed his fingers in the clone seal, creating a copy of himself that started off its existence staring far too intently at Hinata.  He rolled his eyes and punched the clone’s jaw, which caused it to disappear in a puff of smoke mere seconds after it had been formed.  “I hate those things,” he muttered before making another.  This one seemed more normal, thankfully.  “East,” he said tersely.

“You shouldn’t be mean to your clones, Sasuke,” Naruto tsked as Sasuke’s clone sprinted out of sight.  “They’re part of you, y’know.”

“They’re physical manifestations of my chakra unfortunately imbued with some insignificant part of my consciousness.  They’re tools, like all other jutsu, only more annoying than others.”  The other boy’s grumbling made Naruto smirk, but Hinata frowned thoughtfully after the clone before making her own and asking it to go west.  He summoned two and instructed them to go north and south; one replied with a salute and militaristic discipline while the other seemed to drags its feet and sigh every other step.  Well, maybe they were a little obnoxious sometimes, but they were too useful to stop using.

It took a few minutes to drain and refill the bottles.  They each drank one and dumped out the other, opting to replace it with the fresh icy water.  Iruka and Kakashi both always said that really cold water was better for you, though they had been vague on why that was.  Still, it tasted better, and the crispness made Naruto feel more alert.  Maybe there was something to it after all.

Not five minutes later, when they were all settling back near the pseudo-cliff’s base, Sasuke suddenly sat up straight, staring eastward.  “My clone was destroyed, but I didn’t see what happened to it.  There wasn’t any time for it to sense or react to anything.”  That was unsettling, but not so unsettling as Hinata mimicking Sasuke a breath later.

“A little less than two kilometers west – mine too.  All I saw was a bright light, then it was gone.”  Naruto could feel the hairs on the back of his neck trying to stand up, but he brushed off the feeling that was coming on.  It was just a coincidence, surely.  Unfortunately, the odds of that possibility lengthened significantly when one of his own clones was crushed less than a kilometer to the south.

“One of mine was destroyed just now,” he said, getting to his feet and drawing one of the kunai that Jiraiya had given him.  “South.  I didn’t see the attacker either, but my clone was just smashed, like somebody dropped a huge rock on it.”  He wrinkled his nose, trying to think on their options.  His serious bunshin was still running north unimpeded, which meant that it was clear in that direction for the time being.  At least three teams knew that they were nearby, and it was safe to assume that their identities were revealed while they knew nothing of their adversaries.

“Worst case scenario,” Sasuke began, giving voice to Naruto’s own thoughts, “We have three teams heading for our location right now, and they’ll be here in minutes.  Best case, they don’t have sensory or tracking types with them, so they can’t pinpoint our location and will all pass us by.”

“Prepare for the worst, hope for the best,” Hinata recited.  “That’s what Kakashi-sensei always says.  What should be do?”  Naruto could tell that she had plenty of thoughts on the topic herself, but she looked to him for the first opinion.  Sasuke was watching him as well, his stance outwardly casual to anybody who didn’t know him.

“Now’s as good a time as any to show everybody how strong we are,” Naruto shrugged.  “Anko-sensei said that we’re being monitored at all times, so we can at least expect somebody’s watching us right now.”  That made him feel a bit uneasy, but he told himself that it was just the proctors.  They were there as a safeguard and to judge their performance.  “If it’s just one team, I know we won’t have any problems – well, unless it’s Team Gai or Gaara.  I don’t think they’d try to fight us anyway, for the same reasons we don’t want to fight them.”  Sasuke and Hinata both nodded; this was something they had discussed as well.  “Even if it’s more than one team, I think we should take them on.  Unless they look like they’re really strong, anyway.  Otherwise we can always retreat north.”

“Sounds good,” Sasuke said coolly, sitting back down and making a show of stretching lazily against the ridge’s slope.  “We’ll each take one team if they come at us.  I think we should be able to handle that.”

“Probably,” Hinata put in, lowering herself back down as well.  “I’m going to keep my Byakugan active, and I’ll have my Chakra Web ready in case anybody tries to surprise us with a long range jutsu.  Sasuke, can you be ready with—”

“Stone Prison,” he finished for her, lacing his fingers behind his head and closing his eyes.  “Got it.” She smiled and shook her head, clearly amused.

“Want me to put up a Sensory Gate?  I can’t make it as good as you can, but I can make a really big one,” Naruto offered, plopping down beside his friends.  Appearing unconcerned was a good strategy, he realized, and one that Sasuke took naturally to.  Hinata furrowed her brow while the veins beside her eyes became defined with the activation of her bloodline ability, then shook her head again.

“That one works well indoors because we can hide it inside the walls, but out here people could see it easily.  I’ve been trying to find a sensory-type barrier that can be put into the ground and activate when something moves on top of it, but the only ones I could find while researching involved pre-positioned tags.”  Naruto blinked, grinned, and impulsively leaned over to plant a quick kiss on Hinata’s lips.  She flushed and glanced aside at Sasuke, but he appeared to still be feigning sleep.  That action only made Naruto laugh; Hinata was far too cute for her own good.

“We can work on developing one later.  Your eyes are all we need right now anyway; Sasuke looks like he trusts you enough to take a nap while you’re on watch.”  Sasuke grunted noncommittally in response, and Hinata smiled again.  She reached out and gave Naruto’s hand a squeeze before settling into a cross-legged position, her hands resting on her knees and ready to speed into seals at a moment’s notice.

**_Naruto,_** Kurama began, his tone somewhat cautious.  **_There is something watching us._**

_Something?  What do you mean?  Hinata would be able to see anybody before they could see us – she can see further than Neji, even._

**_I’m not sure what it is, but it doesn’t feel human, and it’s staying carefully hidden.  It feels familiar somehow, but that is all I can tell you.  You wouldn’t be able to sense it if you tried.  It’s a . . . different type of particularity._**   Naruto frowned, unnoticed by his friends.  He was used to the Kyūbi being mysterious sometimes, but this was a whole new level of cryptic.  Still, it was clear that the Fox wasn’t sure what it was, or he would have explained better.

_Alright, I’ll keep a lookout.  There’s no reason to tell Sasuke and Hinata, right?  It’d just make them worry about something they can’t do anything about._

**_Probably not,_** Kurama admitted.  Naruto could feel him shift as if uncomfortable, which was an odd sensation because it wasn’t precisely _felt_.  It was more of a knowledge that, within his cage, the Kyūbi was moving around with a touch of restlessness.  Those tidbits were part of their connection, and he had largely gotten used to them, but sometimes Kurama’s emotions could get tangled with his own.  It normally only happened in times of high urgency, but Naruto began to feel a bit uneasy.  He told himself that it was because Kurama rarely got concerned, and thus it was a normal reaction to be worried about it, but he couldn’t be entirely certain.

“The team from Amegakure is approaching from the south, fast,” Hinata said, breaking Naruto’s train of thought.  She continued before he could open his mouth to ask how far they were, her voice becoming more intent by the word.  “Kumogakure is coming from the northeast, and . . .” She stopped, her eyes tightening visible.  “Team Ten is coming from the west.  Cautiously, but they’re coming.”

“Shikamaru and them, huh?” Naruto mused, trying to keep his tone light.  He didn’t fancy the idea of facing his former classmates – at least not so early – but if they were coming then they knew what they were getting into.  “Ino’s a sensory type, so she’ll know we’re here for sure.  I’m kind of hard to miss even if I do my best to suppress my chakra.  The other two groups . . .” He shrugged, then grinned wolfishly.  “Prepare for the worst, right?”

“Want to each take one team?” Sasuke offered, sitting up and stretching again.  Hinata stole a reproving look at him before going back to her sentry duty.  She didn’t appear overly worried, but Naruto could tell that she was concentrating on forming a strategy based on what little they knew of the two foreign teams.  “What?” he asked, his eyes switching from their normal flat black to the red of his Sharingan.  “We wanted to prove how strong we are, right?  If we can beat Kakashi-sensei together, we should be able to take on three genin individually.”

“What if there really are chūnin hidden among them?” Hinata asked, still staring at nothing while she used her kekkei genkai to watch their incoming opponents.  “You felt the killing intent from those two teams, too; they’re not going to be pushovers.”

“I’ll take the team from the Cloud,” Sasuke responded evenly.  “You didn’t see any weapons or scrolls on them, meaning they’re probably more reliant on ninjutsu or taijutsu.  The team from the Hidden Rain looks like it’d be right up your alley; at least one is a weapons user judging by his nunchaku, and if that girl with elbow and shin guards isn’t a taijutsu specialist then I need my eyes checked.  You’d be best in close combat with more than one opponent – you did hold off Sakon and Ukon by yourself, didn’t you?”

“I had help,” Hinata protested, but Naruto could tell that she was considering the idea.  “I guess Naruto would be our best option against the Ino-Shika-Chō combination.  He’s more than a match for Chōji’s brawling, and I doubt he’d let himself get hit with Ino’s Mind Transfer Jutsu.”

“I dunno . . .” Naruto glanced around, taking stock of their surroundings and not liking what he saw.  It was dark there, with large rocks and outcrops all along the bottom of the ravine that would provide long shadows for Shikamaru to use.  “I’ve never seen anybody break out of Shikamaru’s Shadow Imitation technique, and there are a lot of shadows around.”

“When Shikamaru caught Dosu in the Forest of Death, it looked like he was struggling to break free.  He was quavering and straining against the jutsu, at least, meaning he was in control of his muscles.  It’s just a guess, but I think you might be able to break out of it with brute force,” Hinata suggested.  Sasuke chuckled.

“We know he’s got plenty of that.” Naruto gave him a flat look, then shrugged.

“Sounds good to me.  If any of us gets into trouble, though, just throw an exploding tag into the air.  It’s not a flare, so it won’t signal a forfeit, and we’ll be able to see or hear it for some distance around here.”  Hinata and Sasuke nodded in response, and then they waited, reassuming their relaxed manner.

“Team Ten is directly above us, just over the rim,” Hinata said two minutes later.  “I think they’re just watching for now.  The other two teams will arrive in less than thirty seconds, and they don’t look like they’re going to stop to study us.  They’re coming from opposite sides, already down here.”  Naruto nodded and stood up.  There was no point in waiting around for the others to arrive if his opponents were there already.

“I’m going to engage up there – less shadows to deal with.  I don’t want to give Shikamaru too much time to plan, either.”

“Try not to hurt them too badly,” Sasuke said with a smirk.

“Be careful, Naruto.”  Hinata stood and – despite the extra onlookers – didn’t blush when she placed a good-luck kiss on his cheek.  “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he replied, adding his own kiss to her forehead.  “Be safe.”  With that he turned and trotted towards the opposite side of the stream, channeling chakra into his feet before starting up the side.  He didn’t think that any of them would be in real danger of losing their lives, but it was a ritual for him and Hinata now.  Ever since he had died, they wouldn’t go into anything remotely dangerous without those three simple yet powerful words.  They didn’t need to be spoken, of course; each knew how the other felt, but it was a comfort to go into battle after hearing it spoken aloud.  _I’ll be careful,_ he confirmed to himself, though in truth he was more afraid of hurting one of his friends than losing.  Did that make him prideful?  He would need to ask Hinata later, he decided.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“Kumo is northeast, right?” Sasuke asked Hinata as he stood, taking his eyes from where Naruto was rapidly ascending the veritable cliff face.  He focused instead on the gradually curving gorge that hosted their water source, angling out of sight to the northeast.  He saw Hinata’s nod out of the corner of his eye, but she said nothing.  For an instant he was tempted to roll his eyes, but just for that instant.  The bond between her and Naruto was strong, and he understood why they treated every parting like this as if it could be their last.  “He’ll be fine,” he said instead.  “I’ve heard that the other teams have been training harder since the last exam – especially those three – but they can’t catch up on Naruto’s five years of a head start.  Plus they all know about Kurama now, so he doesn’t have to keep that as a trump card this time.”

“I know,” Hinata sighed, finally taking her eyes away from her boyfriend’s retreating form.  “I’m more worried about what he’s thinking about than his physical wellbeing.  Did you see him frown earlier, like he was thinking about something unpleasant?”  Sasuke shook his head.

“No, but I felt his tension for a moment.  I think he believes we didn’t notice.  Do you think it has something to do with Kurama?”  Hinata chewed at her lower lip before nodding.  Sasuke shrugged; there wasn’t anything to be done about it right then.  They would have to ask him later.  “Let’s just focus on beating these guys.  We can talk to him after.”

“Girls, in your case,” Hinata said in a teasing voice.  “It looks like you can’t avoid them today.”

“Whatever,” Sasuke muttered.  “I’m going to engage them around the bend so you have more room to work with here.  Good luck, and try not to take too much damage.  I don’t want to have to listen to Naruto fretting over you for the next few days.”  He didn’t wait for a response, but he did hear her giggling as he sprinted away.  Those two could be overly affectionate, but he had to admit that they were pretty cute sometimes.

As Hinata had foretold, Sasuke saw the three kunoichi coming around the bend ten seconds later.  If they were surprised to see him coming alone, they gave no sign of it, and neither did they want to stop and chat like so many obnoxious opponents in the past.  _Good,_ he thought.  _I hate it when they talk._   He locked eyes with the frontrunner – a girl with short blonde hair held in a sparse tail at the nape of her neck – and activated his Sharingan’s innate genjutsu _._   He felt the connection immediately as the intense illusion took hold of the girl, causing her to jerk to a halt with eyes wide in that expressionless face.  It would only take a second for her to go unconscious once his illusory phantasm broke her will.

“Kai,” one of her teammates barked, clasping the captured girl’s shoulder at the same time.  She was taller than the other two, with long brown hair and dark, hawk-like eyes.

_So, she’s the brains.  Best to take her out first; the one I struck first looks like a fighter, judging by those muscles._   The blonde was short and stocky, and her muscles looked like they could have matched any man’s.  _Not much in the way of mental prowess, though,_ he noted, thinking of how easily she had succumbed to his initial technique.

“He’s an Uchiha,” the third said peevishly, standing on her guard by the other two.  She was the prettiest of the three, though she seemed like a brat.  They were only a dozen paces away, and so he could hear their conversation easily.  “Don’t look directly into his eyes.”  Sasuke groaned; they were going to talk after all.

“He caught me off guard,” the blonde said in a flat voice that matched her unremarkable features.  “It won’t happen again.”  True enough, none of them were looking at his eyes now, instead focusing on a spot near his nose, mouth, or ear.  Well, that took away one of his weapons, but he hadn’t expected to be able to overcome them so easily.

“Where is your team?” the tall brunette asked, glancing around warily.  “I don’t feel them close by.”

_Sensory type,_ he thought idly, wondering why she would give away such useful information so freely.  “We had three teams approaching at once, so we each took one.  You three were unlucky enough to encounter me.  Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to stop letting you talk and get on to the part where you lose consciousness – or your lives.”  All three of them opened their mouths to respond, but he was as good as his word.

_Katon: Flame Contagion._ A streak of fire shot from his lips, the tiny flame striking the taller one on the shoulder and quickly multiplying, leaping towards her allies.  She cursed and leapt away, her teammates doing the same.  The pretty one had been caught by the technique as well, but the fire was already being extinguished by a stream of water from her mouth.  _Ninjutsu.  The sensory one probably uses projectiles and support jutsu, the bratty one uses ninjutsu to attack, and the short one is their taijutsu specialist._ Now that he had them pinned, it was time to test the theories and use the knowledge gained to his advantage.

The first kunoichi charged him immediately, and he had to admit that she was good.  She wasn’t as fast as he or Hinata was, but she could have kept pace with Naruto while matching his uncloaked strength.  She lacked all of their precision and skill with forms, however.  Sasuke was able to fend her off and even land a few hits while simultaneously fitting in hand seals to launch various ninjutsu at his other attackers, keeping all three occupied at once.  They weren’t bad, by any means, but they were all rightfully at genin level.  A Great Fireball followed hot on the heels of a fist of Lightning Shuriken, both aimed at different targets.  He twisted to avoid an open-palm strike in the same breath, his Sharingan making the girl’s movements appear sluggish.  _Maybe this is what Kakashi felt like sparring us,_ he thought idly, pivoting into a round kick that took his attacker in the stomach.  His blow sent the blonde careening back into the brunette, just as planned, allowing Sasuke to focus on the last one for a few seconds.  _Doton: Earth Rupture._ The ground beneath the ninjutsu girl crumpled, toppling and trapping her momentarily.

“Magen: Shackling Stakes,” he said aloud.  She was only just recovering from being knocked off balance, and thus was ill-prepared to counter his genjutsu.  With her teammates too far away to assist, her mouth fell open in a silent scream as she was dragged into a faux world of Sasuke’s creation, where she would be pinned in place by giant spikes that he suspected did not feel very pleasant.

“Raiton: Arc Lighting!” Sasuke barely had time to dive forward before a swath of rock was cut from where he had just been standing, the flash of electricity still writhing towards him by the time he came out of his roll.

“Chidori: Transfer!”  Rather than try to avoid the lightning arcing from the sensory girl’s hands – it seemed he had been wrong about her – he instead extended his own lightning-infused right hand and ‘caught’ the wild bolt.  It continued to pitch and contort in every direction along its length, but the end stayed firmly attached as he matched its power output.  _Too bad for you that I only need to see a technique once._   “Raiton: Arc Lightning!”  He flung out his other hand, allowing a new stream of chakra to flow into the same seeking strike that she had cast.  Rather than utilize only his own chakra, however, he gave way to the flow with right hand and molded the chakra into his own, transferring it all out to amplify the bolt of lightning from his left palm.  It had taken only a split second, and the shock on the girl’s face made it plain that she had not expected him to stop running, let alone retaliate using her own ability.  _Never underestimate an Uchiha._

A knee smashed into the side of his head at the same time as his supercharged lightning attack struck the other kunoichi.  In the time between dodging the attack and redirecting it he had lost track of the taijutsu specialist, and it seemed she had planned to take advantage of the distraction that her teammate had provided.  The Arc Lightning flickered out immediately, and Sasuke tumbled away before striking the chasm wall with enough force to spiderweb a few small cracks up the side.

_Fuck that hurt,_ he growled, angrier that he had let one of them land a hit than anything else.  He let gravity pull him down as he righted himself, one hand on his head when he landed with a slight wince.  He took everything in quickly – that instant of contact with her own technique had apparently incapacitated the sensory girl, who now lay on her back with her hair standing on end, her fingertips blackened.  The last one standing was rushing him now, that plain face contorted with fury, her breath coming hard; she was likely still gasping for air from his kick.  _Well, I almost finished it without incident,_ he thought with a sigh.  He stepped forward, allowing his hand to fall from his throbbing head to deflect a wide haymaker that had no place in a fight.  His other hand came up to slam into her throat, though not hard enough to crush her trachea.  Her eyes still bulged as his fingers latched on, and in that moment she forgot to avoid his gaze.  He smiled.  _Got you._

Sasuke allowed her body to fall limply to the ground, already forgetting her as he surveyed the other two.  _You three might have done pretty well, but it was a mistake to come after us first._   It struck him for the first time just how far they had come since the last exam.  True, he could have taken these three by himself months ago, but not nearly with the ease he had just now.  He would take one blow to the head for an entire team defeated any day.

He retrieved the backpacks of the two downed kunoichi first, slinging them over one shoulder before approaching the last.  She was still staring wide-eyed at nothing, her mouth now closed but with her lips trembling in fear.  She wouldn’t have been able to see what had just occurred, and Sasuke considered for a moment breaking the genjutsu just so that she could see the result before going unconscious.  _No,_ he thought, almost embarrassed at having the thought.  _Naruto wouldn’t approve of that, and Hinata would give me hell if she found out._ With another sigh he swept a clean chop at the back of her head, allowing her to join her teammates on the ground rather than allow her more mental anguish.

With three additional satchels in tow, he retrieved one of their flares and lit it with a trickle of chakra, kicking it into the air before turning to walk back to where he had left Hinata.  Chances are she would be finished with her bout soon, if she wasn’t already.  He wouldn’t want to give her a greater advantage than she already had.  He allowed the corner of his lips to twitch up into a small smile.  He was stronger, and becoming more so by the day.  _It won’t be long now, Itachi._

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“We’re Team Blood, from Amegakure.”

Hinata raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the girl who had just introduced her team, though she didn’t intend any mockery with the gesture.  It was just odd to her that the other team had simply approached her so casually and offered their names.  She had been waiting patiently for them, true, but her unconcerned nature should have tipped them off to be cautious.  Instead they had brazenly landed, stepped forward, and given their names – Takara, and her two teammates Masaru and Gorou.  She would have been beautiful, in Hinata’s opinion, if not for the perpetual sneer she seemed to favor.  The two boys were both taller than her, and had to be several years older as well.  They had both gained the definition and musculature that came with physical maturity, although neither seemed to be as malicious as the kunoichi.

“My name is Hyūga Hinata, from Team Se—” Hinata began, trying to at least return the courtesy.

“We know who you are, Hyūga,” Takara interrupted with a dismissive wave of her hand.  “We did a little research before starting the exam, and we could tell that you three are the strongest that Konoha has to offer.  That’s why we came to defeat you first,” she explained as if it were obvious.  Hinata’s eyebrow twitched, though not in annoyance.  This girl had enough confidence to rival Naruto, and she wanted to laugh for some reason.  It just seemed such an odd strategy, to try to find the hardest fight straight off, but there it was.

“Where are the other two?” one of the young men asked, scanning around suspiciously.  “Scouting?”

“I don’t feel comfortable beating one little girl, but this _is_ a competition,” Gorou said in a mockery of an apologetic tone.  He reached behind his belt and tugged his nunchaku free, taking the weapon into one hand to begin spinning it.  “Wherever they are, we’ll find them after we kill her.”

_Kill?_ Hinata thought sadly, just stopping herself from shaking her head.  Too many shinobi were eager to kill when it wasn’t necessary to do so.  Perhaps it was just their upbringing – in fact, it most certainly was.  That was something that she and Naruto had talked at length about, often with Iruka.  The world needed changing so that all of this senseless bloodshed could cease.  They just hadn’t come up with a solution yet.  “We had three teams approaching our location,” she explained calmly, lowering deliberately into a modified jūken stance.  “They’ve gone to engage them, and I volunteered to stop you.”

“You?” Takara scoffed, cracking her knuckled as she flexed her fingers.  “I’ve heard about your clan, girl, but there’s no way you can beat us three on one.”  She wasn’t confident like Naruto was, Hinata decided.  This girl was just filled with pride.

“We will see,” Hinata said simply, focusing her chakra into her hands.  “Come.”  _And I will show you which of us is stronger_ , she added to herself after a pause.  Naruto and Sasuke had both been helping with her tenacity over the years, but she didn’t think she would ever be as outwardly sure of herself as Sasuke always was, or as vocally courageous as Naruto.  Still, she was sure of herself in her own way, and that was enough.

“Masaru, you know what to do,” Takara growled, dismissiveness replaced by icy anger.  “Gorou, follow my lead, and don’t go easy on her.”  That was all the warning Hinata received before the two close-ranged fighters were on her, but it was all that she needed.

Even after years of training with Sasuke and Naruto, and more recently their increasingly intense training with Kakashi, Hinata was surprised to find the two genin relatively easy to keep up with.  It was a two-on-one, of course, so she needed most of the speed she could muster, but even still she could deflect and counter every strike offered by her adversaries.  If she pushed herself she was sure that she would be able to land a few return blows as well, which would eventually wear them down by shutting off their tenketsu.

She watched Masaru while skirmishing with the other two, making sure to keep an eye on him using her Byakugan.  As suspected, he was the ninjutsu user, and he circled the fight trying to find places to attack from.  Luckily for her he didn’t have an affinity for Earth, or else she would have had a difficult time in her melee.  Instead he sent various Water techniques at her, all of which she avoided through careful timing.  He had to be judicious with his jutsu in order to avoid hitting his teammates, so the attacks were fairly predictable, but still added an additional hindrance.

Takara seemed astonished after the first ten seconds, but gradually her expression hardened into bitterness and increasing fury.  Hinata sympathized with her, in a way.  It would be frustrating to throw her full strength against an opponent – the cumulative experience of three individual genin – and get shut down so handily by one apparently at your own rank.  But this was real combat, and there wasn’t any time for sympathy.

“Hakke: Sixty-Four Palms,” Hinata murmured in the middle of her backbend, allowing Gorou’s slicing nunchaku to pass harmlessly over her.  Before beginning her technique she was forced to flip backwards, kicking aside an axe-kick from Takara mid twirl before landing upright.  She didn’t even spare an instant in the transition, flowing forward seamlessly into her strikes.  _Two strikes.  Four strikes.  Eight strikes.  Sixteen strikes.  Thirty-two strikes.  Sixty-four strikes._ She went about it adroitly, spreading the blurred impacts between the two as opportunity presented itself.  At one juncture, while Gorou was trying and failing to fend off a blow to his side and Takara had just been struck in her arm, she cancelled the technique and leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding a broad torrent of water that would have crushed her against the ravine wall.  Mid-flight she spun and landed hard kicks to both of her opponents skulls, sending them tumbling several meters before she landed clear of the artificial wave.

_Hakke: Ethereal Senbon._ Even as she landed her hands were raised towards Masaru, who cursed and began sprinting diagonally towards his team.  _Fūton: Gale Palm._   The handful of chakra projectiles had been aimed with the next technique in mind, several finding their mark as the Rain ninja’s legs were torn out from under him in the violent wind.

“Who are you?” Gorou grunted, by now having struggled to his feet beside Takara.  Her eyes were black pits of rage, and her voice dripped venom as she spat her own statement out before Hinata could respond.

“She’s just one girl – _one little girl!_ ”  Hinata realized then that Takara was likely as old as her teammates were, even if she looked much younger.  She understood a bit more then, at least about why the other girl was so spiteful.  Some shinobi never made it past genin; that was just how it worked.  They lacked one or more essential qualities to obtain higher rank, and subsequently either accepted their position or became an ordinary citizen.  Takara, it seemed, had been unable to do either, and was still struggling to prove herself.  It made Hinata sad to consider, but that was just another part of the world they lived in, to either be endured or changed.

“My name is Hyūga Hinata, a member of Team Seven and a shinobi of Konohagakure.  Another time I might allow you to leave here, but due to the nature of this exam I must secure your provisions for my friends.  I’m very sorry.”  She really did feel terribly about this whole ordeal, she realized, but there was nothing for it.  This violent, glorified thievery just didn’t sit well with her, even if it was for a greater purpose.

“Don’t talk as if you’ve already won!” Takara practically screeched.  “Gorou, you—!”  Her words cut off abruptly when Hinata simply appeared behind them.  Hinata had moved as quickly as she had been able to, controlling her chakra so that it enhanced every muscle and tendon in her legs and torso to their limits.  It was a subconscious act now, so much so that merely thinking of it was enough to put the flow in motion.  No chakra was wasted in the process, exactly enough used to accomplish her purposes and no more.  Her reserves were worlds less than Naruto, and even fell short of Sasuke’s, so she had learned to compensate by being more efficient.  That was the reason that Takara and Gorou didn’t have time to react before she delivered swift blows to the backs of their heads, allowing them to crumple forward silently.

“Please,” she said, turning towards Masaru.  He had struggled to his knees, blood dripping from several punctures in his arms and abdomen.  Hinata had to suppress a wince; using her Ethereal Senbon in situations with real enemies was all well and good, but the fact that no projectile was left over meant that bleeding out was a real risk.  “Agree to forfeit.  I’ll heal all of you and cause no more harm, I promise.”

“You . . .” Masaru gasped, twitching at every movement.  “How are you so strong?  You’re just a genin, like us.”  Hinata approached him cautiously, but it was clear that there was nothing to fear from the fallen boy.

“Do you agree?” she asked.  He flinched, then looked to his downed teammates and nodded numbly.  “Thank you,” she said sincerely, kneeling beside him to begin healing.  She was glad that she wouldn’t have to take it any further than necessary.  She would have, if necessary, but avoiding pointless bloodshed was important to her.  “I’m strong because of my friends,” she replied simply.  “They believed in me, and we have all supported one another since we were young.  We saw a purpose in our strength and continued growth, and sought after that purpose together.  That’s where our power comes from: our convictions and dedication to one another, and our village.”

“I think it’s a little late for us to do that,” Masaru sighed, flexing his mended muscles as Hinata stepped back.  “We’ve always been together, but I wouldn’t say that we’ve ever been friends.”

“It’s never too late,” Hinata smiled, offering him her hand.  “There’s always a tomorrow – today, in fact.  They won’t be out for more than an hour, after all.”  Masaru glanced at his team again, seemed to take hold of himself, then nodded before pulling a flare from his kunai holster.  He shrugged out of his backpack and handed it over, grinning abashedly.

“Sorry for what we said earlier.  I’ll be cheering for you during the rest of the exams.”

“It’s alright,” Hinata said with a light laugh.  “But I would consider changing your team name.  ‘Team Blood’ is a little too bold and negative, I think.”  His cheeks colored slightly at the remark, but he managed a laugh.

Hinata made quick work of healing the others’ minor injuries before retrieving their packs, waiting until Masaru lit and tossed his flare before turning to go.  She kept her Byakugan active just in case, but she didn’t really expect him to try a surprise assault after their exchange.  He seemed to be a nice young man, just caught in some negative circumstances.  She believed he could change that, and that he would certainly try to.

“Yo,” Sasuke said, stepping out of the shadows nearby.  Hinata jumped, turning the reaction into a ready stance in the blink of an eye.  Sasuke raised an eyebrow, wearing an amused smirk.  “Sorry.  I used the Concealment Barrier when I realized that you were still fighting; I didn’t want to distract you.”

“I still should have seen you,” Hinata breathed, calming herself and straightening.  They had invented that technique together for hiding in plain sight, but she had always been able to see through it with her Byakugan.

“I altered it a little and suppressed my chakra signature,” Sasuke shrugged.  “I figured that keeping a small amount of chakra flowing into the barrier would make it difficult for you to see through unless you were concentrating on it.”

“I guess it did,” she said thoughtfully, eyes on the spot that he had emerged from.  She shook her head as he fell in step beside her, scanning around worriedly.  “Naruto isn’t back yet, and he’s more than two kilometers away.  I can’t see him even when I push my vision to its limits.”

“He’ll probably be back soon,” Sasuke said unconcernedly.  “I’d like to think that Team Ten is stronger than those two.”  He sat down after they had passed out of sight from Team Blood, reassuming his recline and closing his eyes.  “He probably won’t take their supplies if he wins, will he?”

“Probably not,” Hinata admitted, though the thought gave her cause to smile.  Naruto was always thoughtful, of his friends more than others.  When he won he probably wouldn’t even make them surrender.  That was her Naruto.  She settled down to wait with Sasuke, trying not to feel more concerned than necessary.  _Come back soon._

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Naruto should have guessed that Shikamaru would have a plan already, but he hadn’t expected to have to chase Team Ten through a series of traps for several kilometers.  _They must be setting them up on the run,_ he thought, jumping a tripwire that had been drawn between two pitiful shrubs.  He cursed just before touching back down, pouring chakra into his legs and rocketing sideways the instant that he hit the ground.  Several explosions went off where he had landed, though he noted that none had been powerful enough to do him serious harm.  _I’ve had about enough of this._

**_Don’t lose your head,_** Kurama said, still sounding warier than usual.  **_That Nara kid has a head on his shoulders, the likes of which you’ll never achieve.  If you abandon what wits you have, you might actually lose._**

_I was just going to use some of your chakra to let me catch up real quick,_ Naruto grumbled, skidding to a halt and squinting around.  _But now I lost sight of them.  Great._

An odd sensation hit him then, causing him to go completely rigid for a few seconds, though he quickly realized that he had lost control of his own body.  It was strange to be standing – or floating, rather – inside of his own mind, aware of the outside world but unable to act.  For a split second he was formless, floating in infinite darkness with no bearings, unsure which way was up or down.  Somehow he could still see out of his own eyes, but they looked like twin tunnels very far away that he couldn’t get closer to.

“This is Ino’s Mind Transfer Jutsu, isn’t it?” he asked the darkness.  He would have hit himself had he possessed a face to pummel.  To fall for such a technique . . .

“ ** _Idiot,”_** Kurama rumbled from somewhere, and suddenly he was of an all-too familiar room with a massive cage at one end.  **_“You shouldn’t have stopped moving.”_**

“Yeah, yeah . . .” Naruto took a moment to make sure that his body – at least, the one in his mind – was all there.  It had been disconcerting to not be able to feel himself.  “From what I know of this jutsu, her consciousness should be inside my head somewhere right now, taking control of my body.”  The Fox said nothing, just watched him from that murky darkness beyond the bars.  “A long time ago,” he began again, thinking hard, “You said that I’m unique because I have this space in my mind.  Some kind of extra dimension or something, right?”

**_“Aye.”_**   That was all the response he got.  He was going to have to figure this one out on his own, although a possible solution was already forming in his mind.  He had to get out of this quick, or he really could lose.  There was no way he was going to let Sasuke and Hinata down.

“Alright . . . Then can you drag her in here?  I think I have an idea.”  The Kyūbi’s lips curled into a satisfied – if malevolent – smirk as Naruto explained what he wanted to do.  It only took a few seconds to relay, but every moment counted.  At last Kurama nodded, then shifted his gaze towards the center of the chamber, past Naruto’s shoulder.

**_“Welcome to my lair, mortal,”_** Kurama growled, adding in a sinister chuckle for effect.  **_“How brazen of you to intrude into my domain.”_**

Naruto turned to find Ino standing frozen behind him, her eyes almost comically wide as she gaped up at the hulking bijū.  He hadn’t requested much of Kurama, only that he appear as intimidating as possible and pretend to be dangerous.  In reality, the Kyūbi didn’t need to play at either of those; the beast simply _was_ intimidating and dangerous by nature.  As Naruto had requested, red-orange chakra began oozing between the bars, flowing towards the girl in a slow but steady advance.

“I’m going to give you five seconds to get out of my head,” Naruto said roughly, doing his best to utilize his own appearance to what effect he could.  Everybody knew his personality well enough, but he suspected that some might forget that his slit red eyes used to be bright blue, and that his elongated canines were recent additions.  He raised a hand, all five fingers spread out to indicate her time limit.  “Five,” he began, accepting Kurama’s chakra as it reached him.  The energy flowed around him like a living thing, the remaining wave continuing its pace onward.  “Four.”  He lowered one finger.  The chakra covered him completely now, beginning to flare up higher in violent spikes of power.  He took one step forward.  “Three.”

“W-wait!” Ino half-cried, taking a step back in response to his own.  “Y-y-you’re not supposed to be able to s-see me!  You can’t do anything to me here!  Where – where i-is this?!”  Her voice raised another octave in panic, and she looked desperately around for a way out.  Naruto took another step forward.

“Two.”  The wave of reddish chakra picked up speed, rising and lashing forward at different points as if anticipating devouring its prey.  Naruto had continued moving as well, now running forward to keep pace with Kurama’s display.  Ino yelled something incoherent and stumbled backwards, hitting the large metal door to the room.  She spun and began pulling desperately at the handle, but it might as well have been attached to a wall for all the door moved.  In his mind’s eye he watched as Shikamaru came into view and knelt to begin his technique, though it seemed to be happening in slow motion.  Time was running out.

“One!” Naruto snarled, now sprinting at full speed with the massive wall of chakra closing in from all sides.  He put on his best crazed smile, trying to mimic Kurama’s smirk.  Ino screamed and banged on the door before whirling, eyes rolling in every direction, seeking an escape.  She vanished in the instant before Naruto would have collided with her, and as she did the room seemed to fall apart around Naruto.  The last thing he heard was the rumbling of the Kyūbi’s laugh before he was plummeting into that infinite blackness again . . .

. . . Straight back into his own body, where he was again completely stiff and unable to move on his own, although at least he could feel again.  An icy breeze tugged at his cloak, and he could feel the cold seeping through his jika-tabi from the rock underfoot.  Shikamaru was kneeling several meters away, his hands clasped together in a rat seal and wearing a decidedly tight expression.  Chōji was next to him, looking solemn and supporting Ino with one arm, who looked like she had just finished vomiting and was still trembling.

“Shadow Imitation successful,” Shikamaru muttered, sparing a glance for his pallid teammate.  “What happened?”  Her lips opened and shut several times before she just closed her eyes and shuddered.

“Er . . . Sorry about that,” Naruto started, glad that his face at least relaxed into an apologetic expression. “She ah . . . met Kurama.”  Shikamaru blinked and returned his gaze to Naruto, though that was the limit to his reaction.  Chōji swallowed and shifted his feet uneasily.  “What?  You guys know that he’s in there.”

“I thought that it could cause some issue,” Shikamaru responded, “But I didn’t think it would be so . . . violent.”

“We may have gone overboard in trying to get her out,” Naruto admitted, “But I knew you’d be trying to get in position for this, so I wanted to make it quick.  Sorry, Ino.”  The girl really did look like a mess, but he had to admit that she had accomplished her task.  He was stuck, but it felt like there was a small amount of give in his invisible bonds.  “Why did you guys come after us, anyway?”  He wanted to add, ‘We’re from the same village,’ or ‘You guys know how much we train,’ but felt that either might be considered provocation.

“Ino wanted to,” Chōji replied with a shrug.  “She said there were other teams heading for you, and that we could probably take advantage.”

“Well, it worked out as I expected it to,” Shikamaru sighed, standing and scratching his head.  Naruto grunted as his own hand mirrored his friend’s; this technique was annoying.  “They got split up, and now it’s three on one.  Despite Ino’s condition, we still completed the formation.  “No offense, Naruto,” he continued, suddenly looking uncomfortable.  “I wanted to see if our extra training would make us a match for you three, but I’ll take this matchup over the alternatives”

“None taken,” Naruto said lightly.  “But I have to tell you: we didn’t get split up.”  He flexed his muscles, testing the invisible bonds.  They were strong, but it felt like they would give way with enough force.  Shikamaru’s eyes narrowed, and Chōji looked worried.  “We decided to take on three teams at the same time.  Hinata and Sasuke decided that I was the best choice for you three.”  He managed another apologetic smile.  “Looks like they were right so far.”

“Chōji!” Shikamaru said urgently, prompting his ally to practically drop Ino.  Naruto began to rapidly amass chakra in his arms and legs, now actively trying to force the paralysis away.  Shikamaru grunted and went back to one knee, forcing Naruto down as well.  Several more shadows separated from the other boy’s, snaking across the ground until they attached to his.  The tightness seemed to thicken, like an invisible pressure pushing on him from all sides.

“Baika no Jutsu!” Chōji’s midsection ballooned, and Naruto knew what was coming even before his head and limbs disappeared.  “Nikudan Sensha!”  In a blur of speed he began a rapid rotation forward, becoming a human boulder on a collision course with Naruto.

**_You might want to use my chakra to break that,_** Kurama suggested.  **_You have less than two seconds before he hits you._**

_I’ve got it,_ Naruto assured him.  _Can’t rely on you every time I’m in a bind – get it?_ He envisioned the Kyūbi’s eyes rolling more than he felt the exasperation, but he didn’t have time to focus on it.  As Chōji tore towards him he released a concentrated blast of chakra, letting it go wild inside of him.  The bluish energy erupted around him with an audible roar, climbing high like a feeding flame.  For an instant Naruto thought that it might not be enough, but he heard Shikamaru curse just before the rotund boy hit him, and he was free.  Naruto flung out his hands to halt the oncoming genin, expecting to be pushed back a good many paces in the process.  However, Chōji’s course altered at the last second, and suddenly he was back to normal size and flying past Naruto.

“Partial Expansion!”  A fist the size of Naruto’s entire body slammed into his side, sending him spinning off towards a crater that he had passed earlier.

_Ow._ Naruto twisted as soon as he decelerated enough to do so, feet hitting the ground and allowing him to continue sliding for another ten meters.  _I didn’t think he could do that; Chōji’s never been fast._

**_They’ve been training harder ever since you spoke to Shikamaru almost four months ago._**   He paused, then continued with a more annoyed tone.  **_Closer to five months for us.  You and your damned Hiraishin._**

_Well, they’ve come a long way._ That was all the conversation Naruto had time for.  Chōji was charging towards him once again, and if he saw correctly Shikamaru’s shadowy tendrils had actually lifted from the ground and were now streaking towards him.  Kurama’s cloak sprung up around him when he called it, a single tail twitching behind as he rolled to one side to avoid Chōji.  He came up running, his long coat and cloak streaming from side to side as he dodged the shadow spikes.  A glance showed him that Ino was recovering, if slowly, but soon she’d be back in the fight and double intent on seeing him defeated.  _Time to show off a little._

Between darting to the left and sidestepping another of the Akimichi’s attacks, Naruto drew one of his special kunai and threw it towards Shikamaru.  He aimed it so that the other boy wouldn’t be inclined to dodge, and hopefully think it just a wild throw.  His gamble proved profitable when neither Ino nor her teammate moved to deflect the weapon off course, and it landed harmlessly between and behind them.  _Perfect._ He drew out a smoke bomb and an explosive tag, wrapping the latter around the former before concentrating.  It was difficult to focus on while sprinting and flitting between jabs of shadows and diving to avoid a giant rolling person, but he managed to get the mental lock on his seal.  He lit the tag and executed the jutsu, transporting both objects behind his adversaries.

The explosion had the desired effect: it wasn’t close enough to seriously injure them, but the shockwave was enough to throw them off balance and distract for just long enough.  The smoke spread at the same time, covering the two genin in a shroud that blocked their views and – more importantly for Naruto – got rid of those pesky shadows for the time being.  He had only ten seconds to act now before they recovered, but it was enough.  He turned while massing chakra in his right hand, taking great care not to make the technique too powerful.  Kurama’s chakra amplified its power already, so he hardly used any of his own as the orb of concentrated energy spiraled into existence.  Chōji was already coming at him, and was far too close to move too far off track now.

“Rasengan!”  Again the other boy had tried to cancel his jutsu and dodge to the side, and he would have succeeded if not for Naruto’s control of the Kyūbi’s cloak.  A red claw leapt from his shoulder and grabbed Chōji’s ankle as he was flying by, drawing a yelp from the boy even before the Rasengan hit.  Naruto aimed it at his side and didn’t make a full impact, but it was more than enough to send his opponent spinning uncontrollably at a frightening speed.  He watched only long enough to see the impact when Chōji struck the ground and skid several dozen meters to a halt.  There would be no recovering from that for a while.

“W-what . . .” Ino coughed, staggering out of the smoke screen and looking very green.  She must have inhaled some of the fumes, and that on top of her earlier incapacitation must not have been good for her.  “What was that?!”

“I’d like to know that as well,” Shikamaru muttered, clearing the haze at the same time.  “I put the kunai and your makeshift bomb together too late, even if it didn’t make sense.  It still doesn’t make sense,” he said, clearly annoyed that he couldn’t understand what had happened.  “But you somehow got the tag to your kunai.”

“That’s not even possible!” Ino scowled, doing her best to straighten and already looking less queasy.  It seemed that the exploding tag had done less than Naruto had hoped.

“Space-Time Ninjutsu?” Shikamaru asked, clearly vexed.  Naruto grinned, dropping into his standard goken stance.  He wasn’t about to give away his father’s legacy.  The other boy shook his head, looking off towards where Chōji lay.  “Normally I would say that this is too troublesome to continue,” he continued, eyes going back to Naruto.  “But we haven’t finished proving ourselves yet.  The Ino-Shika-Chō formation isn’t the only thing we’ve gotten better at.  Ino!”

“Right!”  What happened next surprised Naruto more than anything else had that day.  Ino snatched a scroll from her belt pouch and broke its seal, unraveling it part way and letting it fall to the ground.  Halfway there the parchment issued forth a plume of smoke, and by the time it touched down she was drawing a sword – a _sword._   The haughty, girly, never-serious-about-training kunoichi drew a full length katana and rushed forward, her footsteps looking smooth and practiced.  She lifted one of her hands, popping a soldier pill into her mouth.  Bright sea-green chakra sprang up the length of the blade, narrowing until it became like a vibrating extension of the weapon.  That was when he knew that the fight was only just beginning.

Naruto was faster than Ino; there was no question about it, and had he been able to land a blow it could easily have decided the fight.  But it appeared that she had spent the bulk of her training these last months honing her offensive skills, namely those involving kenjutsu, and it showed.  Her footwork was flawless, and she wasted no movement in transition from one form to another, keeping Naruto on his toes trying to avoid the precise strikes that oftentimes changed mid-course.

On top of his difficulty with Ino, he still had to pay attention to Shikamaru.  She was deliberately trying to force him towards her ally, he knew, but in turn he made sure to keep her back to the other boy so that he could watch them both.

**_Quit being soft,_** Kurama said irritably.  **_This is getting tiresome._**

_I don’t want to hurt her too badly,_ Naruto protested, although he knew that the Fox had a point.  He could outlast Ino’s chakra easily, and Shikamaru’s as well, but it might take too long.  He didn’t know how Sasuke and Hinata were doing, and it was possible they needed his help.  _But I guess you’re right._

He twisted when Ino went in for her next vertical strike, using his chakra-laced hand to deflect and grab the blade and force it to one side.  To his surprise the weapon cut through the Kyūbi’s cloak, if barely, and he felt the bite of metal on his hand.  He continued through with the movement regardless, rushing past her guard in a burst of speed and landing a hard elbow in her stomach.  The blow doubled her over and the weapon dropped the ground, its clatter drowning out her gasps for air as she too hit the cold earth.  Before he could knock her unconscious with a quick jab, Shikamaru was on him.

It had been a long time since Naruto had sparred with the other boy, and like with Ino he knew that he was faster and stronger, but Shikamaru had not been lying when he had claimed to have improved.  He now wore his own shadow as a kind of second skin.  He had somehow managed to form it to his own body, and it was disconcerting looking down to see that the muted sunlight seemed to give him no shadow to speak of.  His fighting style was completely foreign, apparently developed around this unique ability he had invented.  With every jab shadows leapt from his arm, creating more pinpoint strikes aimed at different parts of Naruto’s body.  Every kick brought with it three or four more lashes of darkness, each carrying as much force – if not more – than the real attacks.

Naruto was completely taken aback by the ferocity of the assault at first, put on the defensive immediately.  This was _not_ the Shikamaru he knew.  Shikamaru had always thought of combat as troublesome, and preferred to plot from the proverbial shadows than to engage in direct skirmishes.  He was a planner by nature, and would always try to find the simplest and most effective means of defeating his opponents.  This was not that Shikamaru.  This was a boy that had decided to take his training seriously, and had worked to expand his skillset to become a truly formidable adversary.  The same could be said of Ino, who had before focused entirely on her family’s jutsu and sensory abilities.  Now she had learned to infuse her chakra into her weapon, and use that weapon to great effect.  Even Chōji had added variety to his repertoire, able to change individual parts of his body on top of improving his speed and reflexes.  This was indeed a different Team Ten than the one that had fought in the last set of exams.  Naruto would have laughed if he had been allowed a moment to do so.

_This is awesome!_ He thought joyously, countering a chop with his forearm and using Kurama’s chakra to intercept the shadow strikes.  _He might not be as fast as Hinata and Sasuke, but his taijutsu is great, and those shadows make it almost impossible to counterattack.  I need to spar with him more often!_

**_He is good,_** Kurama mused.  **_He probably got the idea from watching you manipulate my chakra at some point, though I don’t know when he would have seen it done.  He might even be genius enough to have done that on the fly from watching you during this fight._**

_That’s Shikamaru for you.  I wish I could fight longer, but I need to get back soon._ The thought came easily enough, but it surprised him how difficult it was to find an opening to end the fight.  Shikamaru was a black blur, every part of him save for his eyes shrouded in shadow.  The strain was evident in those eyes, however, and Naruto could imagine why.  Constantly manipulating that much chakra with such precision would take a serious mental toll on anybody, and even with his own control of Kurama’s chakra he had trouble blocking all of those hits.  Red flashes of chakra met black tendrils again and again as fists and feet flew in a frenzy.  It would have been a spectacle to watch, Naruto thought.

To Naruto’s horror, his whole body froze in the middle of a punch aimed at Shikamaru’s chin.  He felt the world dropping away again, but only for an instant before the technique was released.  That momentary halt was all that Shikamaru had needed, however.  He pivoted, putting all of his strength into twin open-palm strikes right into Naruto’s ribs.  Shadows lashed out all down his arms, making contact simultaneously and adding their combined force with the physical hits.  The air left Naruto’s lungs in a rush, and he could hear his ribs creak under the pressure as he was lifted off of his feet and blown backwards.  Only the added protection of the Kyūbi’s chakra kept any bones from breaking, but it was a close call.  He hit the ground hard a ways off, tumbling and coughing and struggling to get upright.

“Nice job Ino,” Shikamaru panted, his shadow seeming to slide off of him all at once.  He fell to one knee, sweat pouring down his face that held a fierce grin in place.  “He felt that hit.”

“Damn right I did,” Naruto groaned, finally getting one leg under him and shakily getting to his feet.  That had hurt – _a lot._   He had felt every one of those strikes through the covering of chakra and through his body armor, and the points of impact still throbbed angrily.  Bruises would be in his near future.  “That was incredible you guys.”

**_I have to admit, it was interesting.  Those three have grown.  Funny what a few words can do when offered at the right time._ **

“What’s incredible . . .” Ino coughed, still holding her torso and looking pained.  “Is that you’re still standing.  What the hell are you made of?!”  She sounded indignant, but begrudgingly impressed.

“I don’t know what it is, but I think we need some of it,” Shikamaru laughed, the sound coming out a bit weak.  He shook his head, looking exhausted.  “I don’t have any more in me.  You win, Naruto.”

It was a relief to be able to release the massive amount of chakra that he had been holding on to, and with it went a good bit of his own strength.  He took a few unsteady steps before he regained control, moving to retrieve his kunai and shaking his head all the while.  Kurama was right; Team Ten was a force to be reckoned with.  If he wasn’t a jinchūriki, it was very likely that he would have been on the ground minutes ago.  But one worked with the tools that he had, and he was definitely glad to have what he did right then.

“Well, you’re damn impressive as always, Naruto,” Shikamaru said with a wince, rising slowly with Ino’s help.  “I thought we could beat you together, but that trick with the kunai sealed your victory, I think.  Are you going to tell me what that was?”

“Sorry, Shikamaru,” Naruto said with a grin.  “That’s a Team Seven secret for now.  Maybe after the exam is over.”  The other boy nodded, then deliberately removed his backpack and held it out.

“You could have continued if you wanted to,” Shikamaru shrugged.  “We were beaten, so the supplies are yours.  We’ll get them from another team tomorrow.”

“You really think I would take your stuff?” Naruto laughed, pushing the satchel away and shaking his head.  “I don’t care what you say; I’m not taking it.  I know you’d do the same for me if our situations were reversed.”  Shikamaru considered that for a moment, nodded, and just as casually slipped the bag back over his shoulder.

“We need to see to Chōji, and I expect you want to get back to your team.  Thanks for not hitting him full force,” he put in before turning.  “We’ll see you in six days.”  Surprisingly, Ino beamed at him before she began trotting towards her fallen comrade.  Naruto couldn’t get the smile off of his face as he left, jogging back to where he had left Sasuke and Hinata.  He was proud of his former classmates for what they had accomplished, and glad that he had been able to fight them.

**_Ready for another six days of that?_** Kurama asked mildly, likely intending it to be a jeer.

_You bet I am!_   And he was.  So far this was turning out far better than the last exam, both in experience and the notable lack of true danger.  He sobered a bit at that thought, although a little voice in the back of his head told him that, if Orochimaru decided to make another appearance, he would find a much different group of genin than he had first encountered.

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

“Man I’m tired,” Naruto sighed, leaning back against the curved stone wall of their ‘camp.’  Sasuke had raised a Stone Prison to serve as protection as night fell, leaving a small hole for them to crawl through at one side and another at the top for the smoke from their fire to escape.  The little blaze had warmed the interior of their hideout well, creating a safe and cozy environment to spend the night in.

“I don’t even know how you’re still awake after what you did,” Sasuke snorted, taking his own leisure on the opposite side of the space.  “Our fights were boring by comparison.”  Naruto opened his eyes long enough to wink at his friend and witness the subsequent eye roll, then closed them again and snuggled a little closer to Hinata.  She was already fast asleep at his side, using his shoulder as a pillow.  She had spent a considerable amount of chakra that day as well, keeping her Byakugan active and searching a broad area while also healing Naruto after his fight.  They hadn’t encountered any other teams since that morning, but he suspected that more than a few had been eliminated, even outside of the ones they had taken care of.

“You should have seen Shikamaru’s technique,” Naruto said for what felt like the tenth time already.  He couldn’t help it; it had really been impressive.

“I’m more surprised that Ino put up what fight she did.  She was never any good at taijutsu, or any combat, really.”  Sasuke shook his head.  “Maybe we should have taken some time spying on the other teams beforehand.  Still . . . You did take them out by yourself.  I doubt it would have been much of a contest if all three of us had engaged them.”

“Maybe,” Naruto admitted.  “They’re still a lot stronger than before.  It makes me happy.”

“Happy?  They’re our enemies in this exam.”

“Yeah, but it means that Konoha is stronger as a whole.  It means that the next generation of shinobi is going to be strong, and that’s good.”  His eyes fluttered closed again, feeling heavier than ever.  “We’ll do the title of the Konoha Twelve proud, Sasuke.  We’ll win this time, too . . .”

“Yeah, we will.  No matter what,” he heard Sasuke say before a quiet hiss announced the dousing of the fire.  Naruto heard the tarp settling over the hole above and the grating of stone closing their door, but he was too tired to get his eyes open again to look.  Instead he just pulled Hinata a little closer, letting her soft, sleepy murmurs lull him into a deep, welcome slumber.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twenty-eight thousand, six hundred and six words later . . .
> 
> Heya folks! It’s been a minute, as usual, but this time at least you had two chapters worth of words to read, right? This particular chapter (CH28 included) was so long because I couldn’t find a stopping point that I was happy with, on top of the fact that I’m still getting accustomed to the new style I’ve adopted. I’ve found that I can be much more verbose in the third-person limited perspective, so that’s where a lot of the extra content comes from. I hope you enjoyed it all the same! I’ve got some exciting things planned for the next few chapters, too, and I look forward to writing them in the next month or two.
> 
> A huge thank you to Rhi for tackling this multi-chapter monolith. Seriously, make sure to thank her if you leave a review. This story wouldn’t be what it is without her dedication to it as editor.
> 
> To all of those that have favorited, followed, and especially reviewed over these past weeks, I thank you sincerely. It’s always lovely reading reviews, and I even appreciate the negative ones when they help to point out things I need to work on. Writers gotta improve, and while compliments build confidence, constructive criticism builds character. Above all, though, I appreciate everybody who’s followed the story all this way and is still here 325-odd thousand words later, whether you’ve been here since day one or have been marathoning it since yesterday. You’re all fantastic.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> \- Wes


	30. Power to be Feared

“Less than a day left,” Naruto hummed, lying back against the curved stone with a sigh.  It had been a remarkably dull four days following that first, and he had truly been looking forward to fighting strong genin from other villages.  They had only encountered three additional teams since then, and out of fairness – and Sasuke’s suggestion – they had each faced one of them alone.  Each experience had been as disappointing as Hinata and Sasuke’s first two fights had sounded, finished in a few minutes with hardly any effort to speak of.  It made a certain amount of sense, though; Kakashi had told them repeatedly that they were chūnin level at least, and more than once had insinuated that they might not be far off from jōnin.  Naruto supposed that the point of these exams would be realized soon enough once they were all promoted.  After seeing the competition, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that they would all be chūnin before long.

As per their plan – well, Hinata’s plan – they had focused their efforts during the second day on locating one of the oases.  It had taken much longer than expected given that they had a Byakugan to search with, but by midafternoon Hinata had led them into a deep, narrow fissure barely wide enough for them to walk single-file.  After wriggling through a bare crack in the wall and crawling a short distance through complete darkness, they had found themselves in a hidden cave outfitted with everything they would need to coast through the remainder of the exam.  There were three bedrolls stacked neatly to one side, a small crate filled with canteens of clean water, another packed with enough field rations to last five days, and a tall stack of treated firewood and kindling.  The narrowest of clefts in the low ceiling provided a vent for any smoke to escape through, although the supply of fuel was so dry that hardly a wisp left the flames.  All in all it was a cozy place to set up camp and do as they had planned: relax as much as possible, and begin to work on thinning the ranks.

Despite having come up with the proposal in the first place, Hinata had showed some distaste for actively seeking out other teams to knock out of the exam.  It hadn’t taken much convincing for her to see that it was only in their benefit to do so, both to ensure that there wouldn’t be preliminaries to grind through and because they were being judged every step of the way.  Taking a purely passive route or an overly aggressive path might tilt the proctors’ favor away from them, seeing as these exams were meant to select genin with leadership capabilities to match their ninja skills.  This way showed that they understood pacing and priorities.  However, it had all come down to fun when Sasuke had insisted they continue engaging teams with only one of their own number.  Naruto knew what his friend was about, of course, but surprisingly Hinata had gone right along with them – for more practical reasons, of course.  It made more sense to leave two of them well-rested in case of an ambush, and they _were_ there to show off their talents, in a manner of speaking.

“I figured at least some of these teams would have been more trying,” Sasuke muttered from across the cave, bringing Naruto’s attention back to his surroundings.  The other boy was lounging on his bedroll, one knee up and with one arm placed languidly over his eyes to block out the firelight.  Naruto smirked; he had been saying the same thing since the beginning.  “It’s almost embarrassing that these genin are representing their villages.”

“Sasuke,” Hinata began in a chiding tone, her voice drawing Naruto’s eyes across the crackling fire.  She sat cross-legged, Byakugan active but otherwise appearing relaxed and slightly amused.  “Not every team will be like the ones we’ve fought; discounting those we’ve beaten, there are at least eleven others – including Gaara’s and the others from Konoha.”

“Just leaves seven other weakling triads running around waiting to be stomped,” he shrugged.  “If the others are any indicator, anyway.  Were they all like this last time around?”

“Remember that first team we took out in the Forest of Death?  The one from Konoha?”  Hinata and Sasuke both nodded.  “Pretty sure we said the same thing about them, too, and these teams have definitely been stronger than the ones from before.  That Suna team I fought a few days ago was pretty fun, remember?  I just think we’re outpacing most other genin, kind of like how Kakashi-sensei got to jōnin really fast.”

“I wouldn’t quite compare us to Kakashi-sensei,” Hinata said.  “But I do think that the teams we’ve been up against are the ones who belong at these exams.  We’re . . . perhaps a bit beyond where we ought to be.”  Sasuke snorted as if to say ‘that’s putting it lightly,’ but offered no actual comment in rebuttal.  They all knew it was true, to one degree or another.  Being confident in their own strength went hand-in-hand with remembering to be humble.  That last bit was something Naruto sometimes struggled with.  Sasuke didn’t even bother with humility most times, but Hinata had enough to cover his share too.

“Anyway,” Naruto went on, leaning forward to add another log to the fire.  “We can probably stay here until tomorrow morning, then move out when it’s getting close to midday.  Anko-sensei didn’t say we had to meet anywhere, so the proctors will most likely stop the exam at noon and come get us.  It’d be best if we were topside for that, yeah?”

“They know where we are if they’re actually watching,” Sasuke offered.  “I’d rather just stay here and sleep more.  Even if this exam has been boring, we haven’t had a chance to rest this much in a long time.”

“I wouldn’t want to make them come get us in here,” Hinata put in.  “Why don’t we leave late morning when . . .” She trailed off, concentrating on an innocuous point on the cave wall before going on.  “Team Gai is heading this way, and Neji-nīsan has his Byakugan active.  They’ll see us once they come closer.”

“No reason for us to go anywhere,” Naruto said, settling back against the curved wall.  “They’ll either change directions like that Grass team did yesterday, or they’ll come say hi.”

“You want to invite them in for a cup of tea, too?” Sasuke asked wryly.  “I know we don’t want to fight any strong teams, but this is the Chūnin Exam.  Right now they’re our opponents and obstacles to getting through to the next portion of the test.”

“Aw come on, Sasuke.  Maybe they just want to come hang out for a while!  You said yourself that it’s been getting boring these last few days, right?”  The other boy raised an eyebrow.  Okay, well he hadn’t said that exactly, but it was close enough.  “I say we let them in if they come this way.  Remember: more chūnin for Konoha is a benefit for all of us, so there’s no reason to run them off.”

“I think so too,” Hinata agreed, smiling at him in that special way that always made him feel warm inside.  All of her smiles did that, but this one was a particular kind of warmth.  “We can find out more about the other participants from them as well,” she added to Sasuke, dangling the tidbit of potential gain in front of him like a carrot.  “That would benefit us, wouldn’t it?”

“Fine, fine,” Sasuke relented in a muted grumble.  “We have more food and water than we know what to do with anyway.”  Naruto grinned, sharing the expression with Hinata.  They knew that their friend wasn’t really as surly as he seemed.  Probably.

A few minutes passed before Team Gai arrived at the entrance to the cave, most likely taking it slow as a precaution.  When Hinata announced that they had stopped outside, though, they simply waited without coming in for a time.  Naruto was about to ask what was going on when Tenten’s voice drifted into the oasis, sounding a mix between cautious and her usual playful self.

“So we figured you didn’t want to fight from your reaction,” she said, tone coming through clearly via the Wind Whisper technique.  “Can we come in, or am I gonna have to toss in one of my Ten-Bombs?”  Hinata giggled and formed the appropriate signs to reply without having to shout.

“Of course you can – even Sasuke agreed not to attack you.”  Tenten’s laugh faded away quickly enough that Naruto could hear his friend’s snort.

Team Gai ducked into their little den a few moments later, looking a bit more worse for wear than expected.  Tenten’s lower lip was a bit puffy, and more than a few spots of exposed skin looked burned.  Lee’s usual wide smile was somewhat diminished due to a swollen eye and a multitude of scrapes.  Neji appeared the least physically harmed, but he was obviously tired and further drained of chakra than his comrades.  All of their clothes were dirty and torn, causing them to appear even more ragged.

“Rough week so far?” Naruto asked, shifting away from the wall to take a seat beside Hinata.  Concern was written all over her, and even Sasuke had opened one eye to catch a glimpse of the newcomers, though it was most likely just due to the comment.

“Didn’t start that way,” Neji replied, sinking down in the spot that Naruto had vacated.  “Cleaned up a few weaker teams pretty fast in the first couple of days.  We ran into an . . . obstacle, yesterday.”

“It was a genin from the Stone,” Lee said excitedly, pumping his fist along with the words.  “You should have seen him, Naruto-kun!  His allies were strong as well, but he could have outmatched the three of us alone.  His youth was—!”

“Fiery and impressive or something,” Tenten interrupted with a sigh.  “Neji and I think he was a chūnin, or maybe even a jōnin.  He outpaced Lee with three gates open.”

“Three?” Sasuke whistled, finally sitting up now that something had caught his interest.  “But you’re here, which means you beat him, right?”

“Not quite.”  Tenten made a face, then glanced at one of the crates.  “You wouldn’t happen to have some extra food or water lying around, would you?  We had our packs taken while retreating, as embarrassing as that is.”

“Tenten,” Neji began, looking like an instructor about to chastise a student.  Before he could continue, though, Hinata was offering a ration pack and canteen across the fire to him.  He blinked, made a face, and then straightened his expression before making a seated bow.  “Thank you, Hinata-sama.”  He took the proffered meal graciously, as did Tenten and Lee when Hinata handed them theirs.

“We’re all Konoha shinobi,” she smiled, settling back down.  “With such limited attendance in these exams, there’s almost no chance of preliminaries this time around either, so there’s no harm in helping one another.”

“Yosh!” That was Lee’s only response before he tore open his own rations, grabbing the smaller packs inside and emptying them into his mouth without discrimination.  Naruto was pretty sure that one of them had been labeled ‘Coffee,’ but he couldn’t be certain.

“At least say ‘thank you,’ Lee,” Tenten groaned, putting her hands together and bowing towards Team Seven as a whole.  “Really, thank you.  Getting through the night and tomorrow morning would have been rough if we hadn’t run into you three.”

“You’d do the same for us,” Naruto assured, though the other team’s generosity wasn’t foremost in his mind at the moment.  “But you said you had to run away from that Iwa guy?  Was he really that strong?”

“He was a master of earth techniques for sure, and I saw a lot of advanced fire as well.  He knew to keep his distance from Neji, too, and like I said before his taijutsu was even better than Lee’s.  Bukijutsu wasn’t his forte, but with the way he moved and used ninjutsu I’m not sure it mattered.”  The girl’s expression soured a bit at that admission, though a moment later she was busying herself with the gifted meal.

“If he was that good, I’m surprised you guys managed to get away relatively unharmed,” Sasuke put in, folding his arms.

“Tenten took one of them out before the fight began.  If she hadn’t, it’s likely the result would have been much worse.  Team Eight ran into them before us, and they were not as fortunate.”  Neji shook his head, leaving his food untouched for the time being.  “We met Sakura this afternoon – just her, alone.  Her teammates were nearly killed, which left her trying to finish solo.”

“Sakura’s by herself?” Sasuke asked.  To the others it might have sounded like a casual inquiry, but Naruto heard the edge in his friend’s voice.  “How did she manage to escape on her own?”

“She’s fine,” Tenten soothed between bites, correctly interpreting his nonchalance as concern.  “Apparently she destroyed the plateau that they had been fighting on and got her teammates out while it was collapsing.  I forgot to ask how, exactly, but Kiba and Shino had to be evacuated.  At least she has enough to survive on between their extra rations, though.”

“That sucks, but I’m glad she’s still in to represent her team.”  Naruto glanced sideways at Hinata, then placed his hand over hers before going on.  “We’ve had pretty good luck, I guess.  Just five pretty weak teams, and we ran into Team Ten on the first day, but nothing really came of that.  We’ve been here since the second day, using this place as a base more or less.”

“We’d have liked to have done that, but Gaara’s team set themselves up in the other one near the northern boundary.  It’s on a high, isolated mesa,” Neji explained, “And there are so many traps set around it that I doubt anyone could get there now.  Lee tripped a wire half a kilometer away from it, and we nearly found ourselves turned into pincushions for poison needles.”

“Sounds like Kankurō’s work,” Naruto mused.  “That’s a pretty wide radius to protect against, but I guess that oasis would be easier to find than this one.”  He fell silent then, letting them eat in peace for a time while he thought.  A genin – or maybe not a genin – had taken on and nearly beaten Team Gai by himself, which Naruto knew was beyond his own capabilities.  That would be someone to watch out for in the third exam.  Most of the Konoha Twelve were still in; the only ones that had been knocked out were those who had met the Iwa-nin, at least as far as they knew.  He wondered how Shikamaru’s team was doing, seeing as they had sought out a hard fight on the first day.  _Probably just fine_ , he reasoned.  _They’re strong._

“It’s getting late,” Neji said after a while.  “We should get moving again if we are to find a suitable place to camp for the night.”

“Why not stay here with us?” Hinata suggested, but Tenten was smiling and shaking her head as if the offer had been anticipated.

“It’s a little too cramped in here for six people, for one, and we set a goal to eliminate at least one more team before noon tomorrow.  We need to redeem ourselves a bit, or as Lee likes to say, ‘return to our springtime of youth!’”  She shared a giggle with Hinata before going on, already standing and brushing off her grimy attire.  “We don’t want to draw anyone to you, either, so it’d be best to get some distance between us before complete nightfall.”

“Alright, but at least take some stuff with you,” Naruto insisted, hopping up to grab another handful of meal packets and canteens to stuff into some of the spare backpacks that they had stacked against the crates.  “The oasis would have been enough for us on its own, but five teams means a lot of extra food and water we got.  It wouldn’t be any good for you to pick a fight after skipping breakfast, right?”

“If it were ramen, it would all have been gone already,” Sasuke smirked, causing Naruto to scowl half-heartedly.  He chortled a second later, though; it was probably true.

“You guys are lifesavers,” Tenten said by way of thanks, shouldering her pack with a grateful smile.  “We’ll see you tomorrow, and hopefully with a better story to tell.”

“Thank you very much, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, Hinata-san.”  Lee bowed and gave them his signature thumbs-up, though a slight wince ruined the effect some.

“Here, before you go,” Hinata started, rising so that she could face the three of them directly and weave a half dozen hand seals.  “Suiton: Soothing Mist.”  She breathed deeply, exhaling the jutsu into a greenish haze around the injured trio.  There weren’t major wounds, but Naruto knew that she wouldn’t have allowed her friends to leave without getting healed first.  Everyone’s skin smoothed over and mended, Lee’s eye gradually returned to normal, and Tenten’s lip was brought back to its original state.  There was nothing to be done about their clothes, but they did look worlds better than they had upon entering.

“Thank you again, Hinata-sama,” Neji intoned, bowing more deeply this time.  “Truly, your grace knows no bounds – yours, nor your team’s.”

“Uh-huh,” Sasuke muttered.  “I put in a vote to knock you out, just so we’re clear.”  He smirked and extended a fist, which each of them gladly rapped with their own.  Naruto did the same, massaging his knuckles after Lee’s exuberant response.

“Be careful, and we’ll see you tomorrow.”  Hinata stepped forward to give Tenten a hug, bowing to the others before moving back to watch them depart one by one.

“See?  Told you it’d be fun,” Naruto said slyly, nudging Sasuke before plopping back to the ground.  “And you got to hear that Sakura was alright, too.”  He received a punch in the arm for that comment, but it was worth it.

“That was nice of you to give them supplies in our extra packs,” Hinata said as she lowered herself down as well, settling between Naruto’s knees so that she could lean back against his chest.  “And I’m surprised you didn’t talk about how you defeated Team Ten, or how we’ve been handling the other teams.”

“Hey, I don’t _always_ brag about things,” he said in a mock-defensive tone.  She giggled and titled her head back to kiss his neck, which brought on a warm feeling on top of the one already present from her voiced appreciation.

“You two could go a night without cuddling, you know,” Sasuke interjected, already lying on the bedroll again.  “Give a guy a break from all the mush.”

“Aw, I think Sasuke’s missing Sakura a bit,” Naruto teased, looking down Hinata.  “Do you think we should stop for him, to be nice?”

“Hm . . .” Hinata tapped her lips, pretending to think for a moment before looking up at him again.  “I think he’ll be okay.  Besides, it _is_ our last night in the Badlands.”  She giggled again before shifting closer for a kiss, Naruto’s own laugh bubbling through the gesture.  He heard Sasuke groan and shift from across the fire.  Tonight was going to be as enjoyable as their other nights together in the wilderness – maybe even more so.

/*\

The sun was well on its way into the sky by the time Team Seven departed as planned.  Sasuke had once again pitched the idea of staying until noon, but this would be their last opportunity to encounter and eliminate teams before the exam ended.  It was a low chance given the size of the Badlands, but the odds were increased with Hinata’s tremendous range of vision.

“Remember,” she said as they reached the top of the crevasse, “If we see any teams from Iwa, we’ll avoid them.”

“I guess it’s better to be safe,” Naruto sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck and letting the chakra flow dissipate from each foot.  Climbing out of that place had been awkward due to the narrow pass, requiring them to crawl until it widened enough to stand.  “I would have liked to see how strong that guy is, though.”

“We’ll see him in the arena if he’s as good as they said.  C’mon, my legs are sore from that climb, and I’d rather not fight around this crack.  Naruto might fall in.”  Sasuke shoved him after the playful remark, an action that Naruto returned – just with a touch more force.  His friend cursed and missed a step, and then they were off.

“Team Ten came into sight, but they changed directions after a few hundred meters,” Hinata informed them a short while later.  “It looked like Ino sensed us, but . . . I don’t see Chōji anywhere.  It’s just the two of them now.”

“I shouldn’t have hit him so hard,” Naruto lamented.  “I bet it was the Rasengan.”

“Even if it was, remember that they’re the ones who wanted to fight.  Ino’s idea or something, right?”  Sasuke’s assertion was somewhat comforting, but Naruto still felt bad.  It was incredibly rare for anyone not in the final exam to make chūnin.  If Chōji didn’t get selected, it would likely be Naruto’s fault for using more force than was necessary.  “Worry about it later if you insist on feeling guilty,” he continued as they leapt across a shallow valley.  “It’s still possible to get attacked before the exam ends.”

“There’s another team heading this way,” Hinata started as if on cue.  “From the Mist.”  She slowed their pace to a walk, glancing aside at her teammates.  “They don’t seem to have sensed us.  What do you think we should do?”

“Take them out,” Sasuke said evenly, though he sighed and cupped the back of his head with both hands.  “It’s Naruto’s turn this time, isn’t it?”

“Hell yeah!” Sasuke was right; he needed to focus on getting through this exam before fretting over something that couldn’t be changed.  He could apologize to Chōji later.  Right now it was time to eliminate some more competition.

“Be careful,” Hinata cautioned, coming to a stop and giving a concerned look.  “There could be other strong shinobi besides the one from Iwa.”

“I will.  You guys are here if I need help, but Kurama and I should be able to handle this no problem.”  He provided his best reassuring smile, which she responded to with a click of her tongue and a peck on his cheek.  Sasuke punched his shoulder.

“Make it quick; I don’t think we have much time left.”  Naruto checked the sun.  It was rapidly approaching its zenith, and he wasn’t sure if the proctors would stop the exam in the middle of a fight or not.

**_That feeling is back_** , the Kyūbi rumbled as Sasuke and Hinata retreated a few dozen meters back.  **_I still can’t tell what it is, but I know that it isn’t good._**

_The one from the first day?_ Kurama sounded disgruntled, probably because he couldn’t figure out the source.  A mental nod indicated that it was the same feeling.  _Do you think we should avoid a fight, then?_

**_That’s surprisingly mature of you to ask_** , the Fox mused.  **_But no, I don’t think that will be necessary.  Those two are here in case anything happens.  Just stay alert, and use my chakra if something unexpected comes up._**

_That’s surprisingly caring of you to say,_ Naruto teased.  Kurama only snorted.

The team from Kiri came into view not long after that, running straight towards him as if they had known where to go.  The foremost genin – the sole kunoichi, it looked like – pointed and they picked up speed instead of deciding to chat.  Naruto grinned.  It only ever went one of three ways: a team stopped to talk first, they attempted a surprise attack, or just ran straight towards them.  The first was mostly amusing, the second never worked thanks to Hinata’s Byakugan, and the last was his favorite.  No chitchat, no complicated maneuvers, just straight into combat.

As expected, the kunoichi continued straight while her two cohorts broke off to circle wide, no doubt heading to engage Hinata and Sasuke.  That wouldn’t be happening today.  Naruto let loose two fists of shuriken, forcing them to dodge back.  He let a kunai fly at the one heading for him, just to make sure he had their attention.

“Hey, I’m your first obstacle!  If you can get past me, you can fight my friends!” he called, lowering into a balanced goken stance.  _Hinata says not to use more chakra than necessary, so I’ll just start with taijutsu._   He wasn’t sure that he could take on three people at once without a clone, but it was worth a shot.  Unfortunately, it appeared that this team wasn’t the most balanced in terms of ability.  They were all close combat specialists.

The outside genin swept towards him immediately, more than glad to take the opportunity to outnumber their adversary.  They held no weapons that he could see, but the kunoichi reached him first, and she wielded a set of kamas like she knew how to use them.  In a flash Naruto had his kunai out, and as soon as the other two arrived, the melee was on.

The trio of Kiri-nin were good, but only as far as a standard genin was expected to be.  It was the same situation as the previously defeated teams: slightly disappointing.  Even with three attackers, Naruto was able to avoid nearly every attack, those that he allowed to land only glancing off of a shoulder or leg.  But there were three of them, and with three attacking in unison it was impossible to dodge, block, and attack all at the same time.  This was really just a test; he had wanted to see if it was possible to keep up with all three at once.  After realizing that it was, he decided to finish quickly like Sasuke had suggested.

Between one weave and the next he created a clone behind the kunoichi, its foot catching the base of her skull in a flash and sending her tumbling off to one side while Naruto swept the others’ legs.  Their leader getting instantly knocked out of the skirmish had caught them off guard, and their faltering spelled the fight’s end.  The bunshin pivoted to land a second straight kick into the side of one genin, and Naruto finished the fight by bringing a heel down hard on the other’s back.  The boy hit the ground hard, head bouncing back from the impact on the rocks.  They were both out cold.

“Man, I was hoping for something a little more exciting,” Naruto sighed.  “I wonder who put together a team like this, with two taijutsu users and one—”

“Naruto look out!” Hinata’s cry jerked his head to one side, and time seemed slow down.  The kunoichi was lying a ways off, propped up on one arm while the other was extended towards him, a kunai long since flung from her fingers.  The weapon was so close that he could make out the ridges on the grip, and the deadly point flashing in the sun only a few centimeters from his face.  There wasn’t time to think, let alone move.  His pride and negligence had caused him to err, and he was just lucky that there was still a way to survive this.

Kurama’s chakra sprang out to meet the blade, catching and deflecting it a hair’s breadth from Naruto’s temple.  He took a step back on impulse, and then blinked.  The Kyūbi was . . . growling, sounding genuinely angry.  Something was wrong, and . . .

. . . He woke up.  Naruto blinked, and then blinked again.  Sasuke’s Sharingan were staring down at him, and he could feel the cold stone beneath his back.  Why was he on the ground?  He had been standing up just now, using Kurama’s chakra to catch the kunai, and then . . . he was on the ground.  There was no time in between.

“What . . .?” he started, trying to move and immediately regretting it.  It felt like something was pounding on the inside of his skull.  The pain receded after a few seconds, but he was dizzy now.  _Really_ dizzy.  “Why am I on the ground?”

“I didn’t think he’d remember,” Sasuke muttered, rising from where he had been kneeling just beside Naruto.  “I got it back under control, though.  I don’t think he’s hurt, but you might want to check.”

“Naruto,” Hinata said from his other side.  She sounded worried – much more worried than he was used to.  “Are you okay?  What happened?”  A familiar green light began soothing the pain away as her face came into view, looking pale and every bit as anxious as her voice had implied.  There was blood on her cheek.

“I’m . . . fine,” he said slowly.  “Just a headache.  And nothing happened.  Why is there blood on you?  Did one of them get back up?”  She bit her lower lip and shook her head, glancing up at Sasuke who was scowling as severely as Naruto had ever seen.  “Seriously, what happened?”

“Take a look,” the other boy said grimly, gesturing vaguely around them.  “Kurama went berserk.”

“What?  No way,” Naruto protested, struggling against his throbbing skull to sit up.  “I . . .” His jaw dropped open, and dread began creeping in to take a firm hold.  Blood.  The area surrounding them was so thoroughly coated that the snow and stone may as well have been painted red.  Scraps of torn clothing were littered about, and a Mist headband lay twisted and broken not far off.  _Something_ was laying off to one side, and it looked far too much like a severed arm.  No, not severed – _torn_ , like it had been ripped off at the shoulder.  A wave of nausea hit him.  “Did I . . .?”

“It wasn’t you,” Sasuke answered flatly, still surveying the bloodstained area.  “That was one hundred percent Kurama, and not the same one that helped us during the last set of exams.  It was like he went insane.  Went straight to four tails, and I’m pretty sure I saw a fifth before your skin started peeling off.  I don’t really know what he sounds like normally, but it seemed like he was roaring, and it was the angriest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“You didn’t kill anyone,” Hinata said quickly, as if she heard the unasked question.  A bit of the tightness in Naruto’s chest released.  A bit.  “It was close, but Sasuke and I managed to get the barrier around you fast enough.  I don’t have the right training to reattach her arm, but Sasuke cauterized the wound and someone else should be able to fix it.”  Naruto craned his neck to look around them, spotting the three genin on the ground behind her.  The girl was covered in blood and deathly pale, but breathing.  Her teammates were still unconscious, but otherwise unharmed.

_What the hell happened?_ Naruto demanded, but after a few seconds he realized that Kurama was . . . dormant.  The Fox wasn’t gone, nor was he really sleeping, but it was like he had lost consciousness somehow and couldn’t reply.  For some reason, that scared Naruto more than anything else.  “I can’t contact him,” he began hollowly.  His throat felt tight.  “He’s . . . It’s like he passed out or something.  Did you see anything, Sasuke?”

“Not much,” he admitted, lighting a flare and tossing it high into the air.  “You – well, Kurama – almost broke out of the barrier before we could see to those three, and the moment I saw you I just went in and severed the connection like before.  Kurama shook his head a few times, and then just collapsed.  I came back out right after.”

“It doesn’t make sense.  I was in a hurry to block that kunai, but I barely called enough to get one tail out, and I didn’t even feel a surge like I might have when taking on too much.”  The glow of Hinata’s technique faded, and he carefully got to his feet with her help.  “He said right before that he could feel something strange, like a bad feeling.  It happened before, on the first day.”

“And you didn’t tell us?” Sasuke asked, incredulous.  “Don’t you think that might have been important to mention?”

“We agreed that there wasn’t anything we could do about it, so there wasn’t a reason to worry you, and I honestly forgot about it until today.”  The other boy scowled and muttered something under his breath about hindsight.  Naruto grimaced.  He already felt guilty enough without someone else pointing out what should have been done.  Hinata’s hand found his and squeezed hard, expressing concern and reassurance at the same time.  “I’ll talk to Jiraiya as soon as the exam is over, and to Kurama when he wakes up.”  _If he wakes up._   The thought was an ominous one.  He had gotten used to the Kyūbi being inside of him, having conversations and gaining knowledge.  Having him gone was almost like losing a friend, however odd that seemed.

“Well this is a mess,” Anko whistled, snapping their attention to where she was surveying the downed genin.  “I got the report about what happened, but I figured it had been exaggerated.”

“Unfortunately not.”  Sasuke stepped forward and picked up the kunoichi’s arm, unconcerned about the blood dripping from it.  “We only had time to stop the bleeding, and Hinata fixed the major internal damage, but she needs to be transported to the hospital immediately.”

“Really?  I thought she might just need a bandage,” the jōnin drawled, gingerly lifting the girl as a pair of chūnin arrived to retrieve the others.  “Give me that,” she continued, snatching the limb.  “We only had half an hour left until the exam’s conclusion.  Couldn’t you have avoided mangling someone?”  She sounded annoyed now instead of her usual jovial self.  Naruto averted his gaze.

“I’m sorry, Anko-sensei.  It was an accident.”

“There isn’t any room for accidents in the ninja world, kid,” she said dryly.  “You’re strong – hell, you’re terrifyingly strong, but power that can’t be controlled is power to be feared, not respected.  Remember that.  Don’t just stand around!” she barked at her associates.  “Let’s get these three to the infirmary, pronto!”  They disappeared using the Body Flicker jutsu, leaving Team Seven standing in the middle of a swath of gore, alone.

“As shitty as that was,” Sasuke said finally, breaking the uncomfortable silence, “We still got rid of one more team before the exam ended, and managed to go the whole way without a casualty.  Even though we’re probably the only team that would go out of our way to save an enemy’s life,” he finished in a grumble.

“They’re not enemies,” Hinata said distractedly.  “This is just an aptitude test, and if we can finish it without unnecessary deaths then we will.  Naruto . . .” She gave his hand another squeeze, but he could only shake his head.

“There’s nothing we can do about it now.  Let’s just find somewhere to wait until the time’s up.  We should’ve stayed at the oasis after all.”  He could see her out of the corner of his eye, distressed and wanting to say something to help.  He was glad that she didn’t, though; talking was hard right now, and he wasn’t sure how to respond to encouragement.  Everything felt wrong, and he still felt so disoriented.

They located a nearby gully to rest in, settling down to wait until noon.  Sasuke and Hinata talked in spurts, guessing how many people might have made it through – especially with the rule allowing individuals to drop out – and wondering who they would have to fight in the finals, assuming that they were set up the same as last time.  Naruto hardly heard a word, too lost in his own thoughts.  They should have fought as a team, and then all of this could have been avoided.  It was his pride that got in the way of that decision, even if Kurama had supported it.  The Kyūbi was more prideful than any human he had met, so of course he wouldn’t have seen a problem.  But why had he collapsed like that?  What had happened?  He was the Kyūbi, after all . . . _‘And you would be wise not to forget it.’_   He shivered.  Could Kurama have done it on purpose?

“A chūnin is coming,” Hinata said, a plume of smoke appearing nearby almost before she finished speaking.  The same one-eyed shinobi that had served as their guide appeared, nodding in greeting before beckoning them to follow.  There weren’t any kind half-smiles to be had now.  He even looked a bit on edge, and his eye flicked to Naruto more than once before he turned to lead the way out.

They followed in silence, heading south at a good clip until they reached the barrier closest to the base camp.  A pair of proctors already had a section open for them to pass through, and before long they were descending back towards the tents that they had departed from six days prior.  There were already a fair number of genin present, though nowhere near as many as had set out.  Team Gai, Shikamaru, Ino, Gaara and his siblings, and a Grass-nin were standing around, either resting or talking.

“Yo,” Shikamaru hailed as they approached, one eyebrow raised.  “That blood is pretty fresh.  I take it you ran into a problem near the end?”

“Something like that,” Sasuke shrugged.  The Nara boy took the hint, nodding once before changing subjects.

“We convinced Chōji to drop out after he took one too many hits from that kunoichi over there,” he continued, nodding towards the Kusa-nin.  “We got her teammates, but she’s some kind of expert with traps and played us right into her hands.  Have you all seen Sakura?  We heard from Neji that she had to get Shino and Kiba out.”  Naruto shook his head.  He was glad that he hadn’t been the cause of Chōji’s expulsion, but it was only a minor consolation in the face of his current problems.  Gaara approached with Kankurō and Temari, Team Gai just behind.

“I felt it,” Gaara said simply, his gaze steady on Naruto.  “What went wrong?”

“We don’t know,” Hinata replied after Naruto failed to reply.  “I think we’re going to need some time to figure it out.”  The other jinchūriki tilted his head to one side, nodded, and turned to leave, his confused-looking brother and sister trailing behind and casting glances over their shoulders.  Lee had one fist raised, his face the epitome of passionate worry.  Neji and Tenten both appeared troubled, but they thankfully didn’t inquire any further.  Naruto didn’t have any answers to give at the moment.

A single Mist genin arrived a few minutes later, and Sakura dropped into their midst seconds after.  She had bags under her eyes and was slouching a bit, tottering as she approached as if wholly exhausted.  Surprisingly – or perhaps unsurprisingly – Sasuke moved to support her with one arm, muttering things under his breath that Naruto couldn’t make out.  Whatever was said had her smiling and shaking her head.

“I’m fine, Sasuke-kun, only ready to sleep for a week.  I kept running into trouble after Shino and Kiba were taken out; I doubt I slept more than a few hours these last three days.”

“Tenten said you destroyed a plateau to get away,” Ino said, already next to the other girl and fussing over the state of her clothes.  “Care to enlighten us as to what she means by that?”

“I demolished the plateau,” she shrugged, wincing with the action.  “I didn’t see a way of escaping unless I created a lot of confusion.”

“So you . . . demolished an entire plateau?” Ino sounded a mix between quizzical and astounded.  “How?”

“I punched it, of course.”  Sakura grinned then, showing a fierceness that had been hidden by extreme fatigue.  “What else did you expect?”  Ino shook her head, looking a touch faint.

“There they are,” Neji murmured, nodding to the newest arrivals.  They both wore hitai-ate from the Hidden Stone, and one of them was frankly enormous.  Everything about him spoke of power, from his tremendous height – almost twice that of Naruto’s own – to the corded muscles worked throughout his entire body.  He wore only baggy trousers and a sash for a belt, and appeared to have taken no damage whatsoever during the exam.  The other young man walking at his side was in a similar condition, only much closer to a normal-sized person.

“He does look tough,” Naruto commented, welcoming a distraction from his thoughts.  He had never seen a shinobi so massive in his life.  A punch from him would hurt even without chakra put into it.  “I wonder what he ate to get so big.”

“I’m not sure how strong he is, but the smaller one is who you need to worry about.  He isn’t a normal genin, if he is one at all.”  Naruto eyed Neji askance.  He knew that size meant almost nothing to a seasoned ninja, but the news had caught him off guard.  Either way, he was more concerned about fighting against them without Kurama’s help.  He was plenty strong without, but if one of them really was a chūnin or jōnin in disguise, it was unlikely he could win without the bijū cloak.

“That’s everyone!” Anko called, drawing their attention to a boulder next to the tent’s entrance.  She stood atop it, feet set wide with one fist on her hip and the other hand clutching a rolled parchment.  “I would have liked one or two less, but you all earned your places here, _and_ you managed to knock out enough to avoid preliminaries.  Well done!

“Now, one of the proctors is going to walk through with a basket containing sixteen cards – the number of participants who completed the second exam.  Choose one at random, siphon a sliver of chakra into it, and a number will show up.  Hold on to it until everyone has their own, and don’t even think about trying to trade with anyone.  I’m watching you.”  She ended the speech there, watching as the indicated chūnin began shifting through the victorious genin.

“Is this how it went last time?” Naruto asked quietly, eyeing the basket as it wove closer.

“More or less.  I guess there will be eight first round matches instead of five like last time – well, four since Dosu didn’t show up.  Come to think of it, I never saw him after the preliminaries,” Shikamaru mused.

“I killed him,” Gaara said from behind them, voice toneless as always.  “In my defense, he did seek me out in a pitiful assassination attempt.”  Naruto couldn’t help but smirk slightly at that.  Not long ago the other boy would have been completely unapologetic for that, not even bothering with the defense.  It was a testament to the new person he was striving to be.

“Eight,” Hinata murmured, drawing his attention back to the proctor.  Sasuke was reaching into the basket now, withdrawing a card and revealing a large number 3 on its surface.  The chūnin offered the basket to Naruto last.

“Two.  Guess that means none of us will be fighting in the first round, right?”  They all knew that the time would come for at least two of them to fight, though it was more than less likely that one of them would have to fight the other two at some point.

“Alright, line up from lowest to highest, starting on my right.  Have your cards out and turned facing me so that I can see.”  Anko jumped down from her perch, landing in front of the large rock as another pair of chūnin arrived with a large chalkboard.  She started drawing brackets while they formed a line, and by the time the last blank slot was etched onto the board they had finished.  Sasuke and Gaara were immediately to Naruto’s right, whereas Shikamaru, Kankurō, and the supposedly dangerous Iwa-nin were on his left.  This was going to be a difficult group.

“Super!” Anko continued, spinning to face them.  “Obviously I’m only going to fill in the first matchups, but I provided the remaining blanks so that you’ll be able to see who you will be up against depending on which genin wins each bout.  There will be eight fights to start out, where the winners of adjacent groups will fight and advance to the next round.  Well, of course that’s how it’ll work; you kids know what a bracket is!”  She guffawed and tapped the blackboard with the chalk a few times before beginning to scribble names, starting at the top with ‘Shikamaru’ and ‘Kinōda’ – the smaller Stone shinobi.

_Nara Shikamaru vs. Kinōda_  
_Kankurō vs. Uzumaki Naruto_  
_Gaara vs. Uchiha Sasuke_  
_Hyūga Neji vs. Chiyūda_  
_Haruno Sakura vs. Rock Lee_  
_Aki vs. Temari_  
_Tenten vs. Yamanaka Ino  
_ _Uka vs. Hyūga Hinata_

“Take a good look at your neighbors, because while you’re most certainly going to fight one of them, the finalists will have to take on four consecutive opponents before the end.”  Not a word was spoken for a full minute, each genin doubtless going through the same process that Naruto was in his mind.

_Shikamaru fights that strong guy first, which means I’ll probably be against him in the next round.  Kankurō isn’t weak, but I shouldn’t have a problem overpowering him – even without Kurama._   It looked like Gaara and Sasuke were going to have their first round rematch, and the winner of that would face off against Neji most likely.  Lee would undoubtedly take a win against Sakura, although if she managed to land one punch . . . _Hinata’s group looks pretty tame, though she’ll probably have to fight Lee after Tenten._   There would be a lot of friends – or at least good acquaintances – pitted against one another here, although they must have been prepared for that.  Team Seven was.

“You have one week to recover and prepare,” Anko went on.  “We have accelerated rehabilitation rooms available at the hospital due to the time constraints, reserved for participants in this exam that need to be fixed up quickly.  Other than that, I’ve got nothing else to tell you.  Show up at the stadium one week from today with whatever supplies and tools you’ll need – eight o’clock sharp.  Dismissed!”

“Well this is going to be troublesome,” Shikamaru grumbled as everyone began dispersing into teams again.  “I’ll need to talk to Sakura and Team Gai about that Kinōda guy to work out a strategy.  I knew getting a bye in the last exams was going to come back to haunt me.  Neji, you have his teammate, right?”

“Yes,” the older boy replied, arriving with a thoroughly distraught Lee.  Tenten was off to one side talking rather amiably with Ino, most likely about their upcoming match.  “I don’t think I will have an issue with him.”

“I don’t want to fight Sakura-san!”  Lee looked to be on the verge of tears, his eyes like watery saucers while he looked in dismay at the kunoichi in question.  She was back next to Sasuke now, letting him help support her again.

“That’d better be because you’re scared,” she said raising a clenched fist.  “Or do you think I can’t take you on?”  He waved his hands frantically as if to say that wasn’t the case, and she devolved into a fit of giggles while he began tripping over his own tongue trying to explain something about virtue and passion.  “Don’t worry, Lee-senpai.  I’ll do my best, and I don’t expect you to go easy on me either.”  He still looked unsettled, but could only nod and hang his head.  “Careful with that Mist kunoichi, Hinata-chan,” she continued, turning to the other girl.  “She was one that I ran into yesterday; keeps her distance and uses some advanced genjutsu alongside more projectiles than I’ve ever seen Sasuke-kun use.”

“Thank you,” Hinata smiled.  “I’ll have to ask you for more detail this week.  I think we all have our work cut out for us with such a short time to prepare.”

“Ready for our rematch, Gaara?” Sasuke asked, and Naruto was surprised not to hear even a hint of cheekiness.  Gaara turned from talking to his siblings, smiled that shadow of a smile and nodded, then went back to his private discussions.  “I’m looking forward to our group,” he continued, starting off with Sakura back towards Konoha.  “That Iwa-nin, Naruto, Gaara, and Neji.  It’ll be interesting at the very least.”

“Ready to fight in the third round?” Naruto asked with a grin that felt more characteristic of his usual self.  They had walked far enough away from the rest that he wasn’t at risk of offending anyone by assuming he and Sasuke would make it to the end.

“Ready to kick your ass.”  The Uchiha smirked, though his expression dulled a bit soon after.  “Whoever wins has to fight Hinata, though.  Part of me really wants to see your girlfriend beat you in the final match.”

“I’m not guaranteed to win, Sasuke,” Hinata put in, though she held an amused expression nonetheless.  “From what Naruto said, Ino has improved a lot since the last set of exams, but I think Tenten will win still.  If – you don’t have to look at me like that, Naruto.  It is an _if_ ,” she said in response to his ‘look.’  He hadn’t been making a face.  Probably.  “If I win, I’ll have to fight against Sakura, Lee, Temari, or the shinobi from the Grass – Aki, I think.”

“You’ll win, and you’ll be fighting Lee,” Sasuke said with all of the nonchalance in the world.  Maybe he didn’t see Sakura’s gaze turn to ice, but he kept going as if she wasn’t centimeters away and staring daggers.  “Lee is faster than me with four gates opened, and I know that just a few months ago he could open five, even if briefly.  I’ve seen him fell trees with kicks and crush boulders with his punches in that state.  I don’t know anything about the Kusa-nin, but if I’m not confident that I could beat him myself, I don’t think the other three have a chance.”

“You know, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura began sweetly, _dangerously._   “There are some parts of you that are irresistible, and then others that could use some . . . _pruning._ ”  Naruto wasn’t sure, but he thought that he saw Sasuke swallow a bit harder than normal.

**_Uchiha . . ._** Kurama’s quiet rumble stopped Naruto in his tracks, prompting the others to pause and glance in his direction.

_What?  Kurama are you awake?  Do you remember what happened?_ Naruto could feel the Fox all of a sudden, like a wave of panic, fury, and confusion.  They were not emotions that he would normally associate with the Kyūbi, and that made him increasingly uneasy.

**_Those damned eyes . . ._** **_Uchiha eyes . . ._** That was all.  Kurama shifted as if in a restless slumber, then went quiet again, leaving Naruto with a chill running down his spine.

“What is it?” Hinata asked concernedly, casting around briefly before lowering her voice.  “Kurama?”

“Yeah . . . I think he woke up for just a second.” Naruto wasn’t sure how to say what needed to be said, but he pointedly avoided Sasuke’s eyes.  There was only one Uchiha alive aside from his friend as far as anyone knew.  “He said . . . Well I think he was trying to say that . . .”

“What?” Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.  Naruto took a deep breath.

“We need to go see Tsunade-sama.  It was a Sharingan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks – we’re back!
> 
> I’ll keep the explanation of CFKD’s eight month hiatus brief, since I doubt everyone checked my profile much over the last little bit. Basically there were a few big decisions I needed to make regarding the direction my life and career were going at the time, which ultimately led to me leaving my two jobs in favor of focusing on writing. I’ve sunk a whoooooole lot of time into research, planning, and scribbling an original novel since last October, which I’m glad to say is still going well, and I should be finished in the next few months. However, I made a commitment to return to writing fanfiction by June, and I don’t fancy breaking a promise – especially to a community that’s been so great to me over the last two years. So here we are, getting back into the groove, and hoping to return to a chapter-per-month schedule at least!
> 
> Thank you as always to Rhi for her fine editing skills, especially now after my style has changed over the last dry spell. Many thanks also to those who sent messages while I was away, engaging in conversations and expressing a continued interest in the story; ya’ll are fantastic. To the many reviewers, followers, and favorite-makers, you have my earnest appreciation as well. It remains true still from the first time I said it: CFKD wouldn’t exist without the support.
> 
> Look forward to thickening plots and major events happening soon! Rhi and I have been plotting away since returning to work on the fic, so be prepared!
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> \- Wes


	31. Eyes of the Unknown

“I'm telling you that it's impossible,” Sasuke said for the hundredth time.  Naruto scowled.  This debate had persisted all the way back to Konoha, through the streets and now outside of the Hokage's office, and the other boy seemed to have no intention of giving in. ****

“And _I’m_ telling _you_ that it's what Kurama said.”  Naruto tried to keep his tone even, but some frustration made its way through despite his best efforts.  He knew that Sasuke wasn't accusing him of lying, but couldn't the jerk just accept what was plain to see?  “Possible or not, it happened.  He went crazy, almost killed someone, and was muttering about a Sharingan right afterward.  There's nothing else that it could have been unless somebody messed with the seal, and I would have felt that.”

“And you would have _seen_ a Sharingan if it had been that, too,” Sasuke pressed.  “The Kyūbi can't be manipulated by dōjutsu unless there's a meeting of the eyes, and if _your_ eyes didn't see a Sharingan, then his couldn't have either.”

“I told you that I don't remember what happened after the kunai.  It could have happened right after that.”

“Me and Hinata would have seen whoever it was, and I sure as hell would have noticed another Uchiha nearby, don't you think?”

“You two,” Hinata inserted in a gentle yet firm voice.  “Please don't argue; we're all confused and trying to figure out what happened.  Sasuke, Naruto is only giving you the information he has – it's possible that Kurama was mistaken, after all.  And Naruto, he isn't doubting your word.  It's just a troubling implication if it really was a Sharingan.”

“'Troubling' is putting it lightly,” Sasuke grunted, though after a moment he folded his arms and muttered, “Sorry.”

“It's fine . . .” Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his hair, ending with an irritated scratch at the back of his head.  “I shouldn't be getting mad at you.  I'm just annoyed when I don't know what's going on, and I'm afraid they're going to do something to Kurama if we can't prove it wasn't my fault.”

“We know it wasn't your fault,” Hinata put in, but he shook his head.

“We do, but they don't.  Hinata, if they decide that I'm a liability, then they could tighten the seal, and I don't want to let that happen to Kurama.”  That wasn't even considering how it would affect him.  The loss of the Fox's chakra would certainly be a blow to his overall power, though he was confident that he was still strong enough without it to make it through the third exam.  More than anything else, he didn't want to go back on his word.  He and Kurama had made a pact, and he never broke promises.

The door to Tsunade's office opened before his friends could respond, and surprisingly it wasn't Shizune who beckoned them in.  An ANBU agent looked down at them from behind a cat mask, its green stripes reminiscent of whiskers.

“Come in.  The Hokage has been expecting you.”  A toneless voice accompanied by the blank porcelain face made for an unnerving impression.  Naruto took a deep breath and stepped forward, but not before Hinata slipped a hand into his.

An inordinate amount of paperwork lay scattered about the desk across the room, and an agitated Tsunade was scribbling furiously in an attempt to make a dent in it.  She didn't look up when they entered, opting to finish whatever document had her attention at the moment.  The door closed, and the man took up position in front of it.

“Ward the room,” Tsunade barked absently, causing Naruto to jump.  He heard the ANBU murmur a few words, but that was all.  Seconds passed, stretching into minutes, with the only sound being the scratching of quill pen on paper.  Naruto shared a glance with Hinata, and then with Sasuke, who only shrugged.

“Ano, Tsunade-sama, we're here because—”

“I know why you're here,” she snapped, practically throwing the stylus into its inkwell.  Black droplets splattered over a few pages, but she appeared not to notice.  “It's already causing me the headache of the century, if you hadn't noticed.”

“Is the Mist that mad?” Sasuke asked, earning him a mirthless laugh from Tsunade.

“Why would the Mist be angry that you stopped one of their genin from dying?”  She shook her head, disgusted.  “No, although they expressed _serious_ concerns about Naruto's participation in the exams.  You're lucky they think you were in control the whole time, or else they'd be demanding you be locked up.”

“How did you know it wasn't on purpose?” Naruto blurted out.  She raised an eyebrow as if to ask, 'Do you think I'm stupid?'

“Kid, you've pretty much proven that you don't know how to take a life without reason.  If you had been in control, you would have done the same thing you'd been doing through the whole second stage: incapacitate, and inflict the least amount of harm possible.”  He let out a breath that he didn’t remember holding, relieved that she hadn't thought the worst.  “Now, what I do want to know is how it happened, and then I'll decide what we need to do about it.”  Naruto nodded, only hesitating a second before launching into the tale.  It didn't take long, although Sasuke and Hinata had to fill in the bits from when he had been unconscious.  By the time they finished, Tsunade was up and pacing by the windows.

“I don't know how he could have seen a Sharingan when I didn't, but that's what I heard him say afterwards,” Naruto concluded.

“I didn't see anything on the monitors, either, and none of the proctors or ANBU stationed nearby sensed or saw anything out of the ordinary.”  She paused mid-stride, glancing aside at him curiously.  “You said the last thing you saw was the kunai?”  He nodded.  “Let Kakashi in; he's trying to listen outside.”  Her statement was directed over their heads, and a beat later the agent opened the door.  Kakashi strolled in, pausing to murmur something to the other man.  Naruto thought he caught a salutation, but he couldn't be certain.  “You can have a reunion some other time; give me your input.”

“Tsunade-sama,” the jōnin intoned, bowing when he came even with his subordinates.  “I can't be certain, but I believe it was the kunai.”

“What?  How?” Sasuke asked, turning to regard their instructor.  “What's a knife have to do with it?”

“I was one of the proctors stationed nearby,” he continued, shrugging.  “I watched as many of your fights as I could – with my Sharingan.  You might have seen more than I did if yours had been active, Sasuke.”  The boy in question scowled furiously, no doubt upset that he hadn't been so attentive.  “It was only a flicker, but it looked like something was done to the kunai in the middle of its flight.  At the time I passed it off as the girl’s failed genjutsu, but now I suspect it was something else.”

“Image projection?” Tsunade asked, leaning over the back of her chair.  Kakashi tilted his head to one side before nodding thoughtfully.

“It's a possibility, but I don't know of anyone skilled enough with that type of ninjutsu to pull off an elaborate maneuver like that, let alone go completely undetected.”  The Hokage's eyes flicked to the ANBU agent, who nodded and muttered another technique.

“What about in Root?”  Kakashi didn't move save to raise an eyebrow, but the tension in the room increased noticeably.  “Those old fools convinced me to let Danzō handle some of the more sensitive security measures during this set of exams.  I've never liked him, but Sarutobi-sensei trusted and worked with him, and I wanted to make certain that nothing went wrong this time.  Nothing on that scale again, at least.”

“I . . . can't say,” Kakashi shrugged after a time, crossing his arms and thinking.  “Itachi was the only Uchiha I worked with, and I'd have known if there were others, or even any who had obtained a Sharingan like me.”  Tsunade nodded, her eyes travelling to the other man, who shook his head.

“My apologies, Hokage-sama.  My experience was the same.”

“Nothing seen, nothing to be done,” she tsked.  “Naruto, I know you don't want to hear this with the third exam only days away, but I am forbidding you from using Kurama's power until further notice.  Understood?”  Naruto tensed, but there was nothing he could say.  This was a far better result than the worst case, but also pretty far from the best result.  He gave a tight nod, which Tsunade returned before regarding the ANBU again.  “Tenzō, from here on out you will follow Naruto wherever he goes and report back to me.  At the slightest hint of Kurama's chakra being used, I want you to contain it – even if it means interrupting a match.  I expect you to help, Kakashi.”

“Yes, Tsunade-sama,” Kakashi agreed, though he sounded a touch reluctant.

“Hinata, Sasuke,” she went on, sinking back to the chair and looking far more tired than before.  “I'll need your eyes as well leading up to and during the final exam.  I know you have your own training to do as well as your own fights to win, but the more people we have looking then the better odds we have of catching the perpetrator.”  The pair in question provided solemn nods, and Naruto felt Hinata's hand briefly tighten in his own.  “Good.  Now get home and rest up, and congratulations on passing the second exam,” she smirked.  “Not that I expected anything less.”

“We'll meet at the usual spot at sunrise,” Kakashi said as they turned to leave.  “I need to speak with Tsunade-sama, so don't wait up.”

“Yes, sensei,” they said in unison, exiting together.  It was going to be a long, troubled walk back home.

* * *

“What do you think the chances are that this wasn't a Sharingan, and instead something to make it look like one?” Tsunade sighed, steepling her fingers.  “As far as we know, aside from Sasuke you and Itachi are the only two still alive with that particular visual prowess, and with all of the added precautions I doubt Itachi could have slipped through.”

“There's something that I've been bothered by recently,” Kakashi admitted slowly.  This had been in the back of his mind for months, but today’s events had brought it to the forefront of his worried thoughts.  “When Kurama emerged from Naruto during the last exams, he said two things just before disappearing that, in hindsight, seem suspect.  He called me 'a jōnin that holds no grudge from my unwilling attack,' and Sasuke 'an Uchiha whose eyes don't seek to control my power.'  Given the circumstances, I think it's possible that there's another rogue Uchiha out there somewhere, one whose Sharingan is strong enough to control a bijū.”

“That attack happened before the Uchiha clan was massacred,” Tsunade pointed out.  “One of them could have done it.”

“With all due respect to the deceased, I don’t believe any of them could have managed that feat.  They were relegated to a corner of the village shortly afterwards, which bred considerable contention between them and the village leadership.  I believe that – if Kurama’s words are to be taken literally – the Uchiha responsible for drawing him out of Kushina and forcing the attack on Konoha would have gotten to Naruto in the succeeding years if they were inside of the village.  I think it’s best to assume that there’s another out there,” he concluded, troubled by his own claims.  If there really was an Uchiha out there with the strength and intelligence to pull out the Kyūbi, potentially craft a sealing contract, and whose Sharingan could force Kurama to their will, then there were far more frightening things in the world than he had thought.

“I thought you said that Sasuke's was the most powerful you'd ever seen – discounting the Mangekyō, of course.  Itachi is a tremendously skilled shinobi, but I was under the impression that his younger brother was more adept at using the dōjutsu.”

“That’s still correct by my assessment, but that doesn’t mean one more powerful doesn’t exist just because I haven't seen it,” Kakashi stated dryly.  “Jiraiya might know more than I do.”  He hesitated.  “And . . . Danzō might know something we don't as well.”  As questionable a person as he was, Danzō did operate Konoha's most top secret organization.  If they couldn't figure something out, then perhaps the village's underworld could.

“That man . . .” Tsunade tsked again, but nodded.  “I'll see what he knows.  But Kakashi,” she went on seriously.  He straightened.  This tone was familiar, but not from the sitting Hokage.  Hiruzen had become a master of using that voice, and Kakashi knew it for one that was reserved for only the heaviest matters.  “I'm under a great deal of pressure to solve this problem, and not just from our village leaders.  Since the world became aware of Naruto's identity, he's been the target of more than just a handful of assassination and kidnapping attempts – and for the record, he isn’t to know about this.  That’s an order.”

“I've thwarted a few myself,” Kakashi said, recalling the assailants he had eliminated over the last few months.  He had been planning to tell Team Seven about them after the stresses of this exam were gone, but now . . . “You knew that.  We've been tracking spies from almost every nation – aside from the Sand, of course.  There has always been a threat to Konoha's jinchūriki, ever since Uzumaki Mito became the first.  I'd guess that we have ANBU still trying to identify the other villages' vessels.”  There had always been teams out on long-term missions when he had been among Konoha's black ops, and oftentimes they returned one or two short.

“The difference here is that the other villages know who our jinchūriki is already, and all of them are taking one of two positions: threatening, or _very_ threatening.”  She snatched a paper from her desk and waved it at him.  “This is from the Cloud.  It's a blunt borderline declaration of war hinging on our control of the Kyūbi.  And this one?”  She snagged another document, almost crumpling it into a fist.  “From the Mizukage.  She expressed her _deepest_ sympathies and made sure I knew that we could rely on them for help if we needed a _more secure_ method of controlling our bijū.  Oh, and this?”  The parchment she had been scribbling on just a few minutes ago found its way to the door, whizzing past Kakashi and thudding against the thick wooden frame, pinned by a kunai.  “ _That_ is a formal request from Kumogakure asking that we _kindly_ reseal the Kyūbi into a more suitable 'container,' glossing over the fact that 'the death of the current host will be regrettable.'  That's not the half of it – and _that_ isn't even including the flood of angry demands from our own villagers and shinobi that something be done.  It hasn't stopped since the Sand's invasion.”

The room was quiet after Tsunade's rant, leaving her to massage temples that likely ached from having to deal with all of this.  In truth, Kakashi didn't know what to say.  He knew that there had been significant public outrage directed at Naruto for the events of that day, despite the fact that Kurama's actions had saved countless more lives than they took.  But he had expected the truth – while hard to swallow – to come through eventually.  It was troubling that there were many who still felt wronged, and very telling of the villagers' mentalities.  It was sad, but they couldn't be judged too harshly.  Oftentimes people weren't able to see past their own biases.

“If something happens during the next portion of the exam, I'll be forced to take action.”  The Hokage didn't sound like she was giving a warning, but rather like she was resigned to act in the worst case scenario.  “Koharu and Homura have given me suggestions in case of that occurrence, but if it comes to pass I'll leave the decision up to you.”  Kakashi blinked.

“Me?”  Tsunade nodded.

“You.  There is no one who has more of a right and responsibility to that decision than you.  I can sit in this chair and sign decrees and give people orders all day long, but I don't know Naruto like you do, and it would be unfair of me to pass such a judgement on my own.  I just hope that it won't come to that.”

Kakashi saw himself out not long after, a dark cloud forming in his thoughts.  It was difficult to identify exactly which piece of information felt wrong, seeing as almost everything discussed didn't sit right.  One thing was clear, however: they were fortunate to have Tsunade on their side.  Naruto might not have realized it yet, but the Hokage had been in his corner from the beginning.  She had given him the benefit of the doubt without it being requested, and had given Kakashi full agency regarding his fate.  That was as much as giving permission for the whole of Team Seven, Iruka, and Haku to give their input as well.

_I wish you could have lived to tell me more about these eyes, Obito.  I could use a bit of advice right now._   Kakashi sighed, pocketing his hands and beginning an aimless walk away from Tsunade's office.  Well, perhaps not entirely aimless.  There was a certain old man he could always count on for good counsel, and having an eternal rival to bounce ideas off of wasn’t so bad either.

/*\

“Of course I don’t mind if they stay here,” Iruka assured.  Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, though he hadn’t expected anything less from the man after explaining what had happened during the exam.  Sasuke had told him in no uncertain terms that he would be staying over for the next few days, just in case.  He offhandedly mentioned that Haku would be gone this week on his first mission, which certainly didn’t have anything to do with it.  “Are you sure that you’re alright?  And how’s Kurama?”

“I’m fine, and I won’t know how he is until he wakes up I guess.”  Naruto unfastened his white cloak and hung it on a peg, and Hinata promptly retrieved it along with the black coat that he shrugged out of.

“Those need to be washed first,” she chided, adding her own cloak to the pile before turning to Sasuke.  He rolled his eyes and surrendered his own.

“Sorry Hinata,” Naruto sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.  “I guess I’m not really thinking straight still.”

“It’s alright,” she smiled, already starting off down the hall.  “You two take showers first, and leave your clothes in the hall.  I’ll start the laundry.”

“Hinata, I can do that,” Iruka chided, but she shook her head.

“You already have dinner cooking, Iruka-sensei.  I’ll be out to help after I get cleaned up, I promise.”  She was gone after a quickly-bobbed bow, leaving Iruka shaking his head.

“You kids . . .” He sighed, glancing at the two boys still standing in the entryway.  “Well, you heard the boss.  Get cleaned up and ready for dinner.  We’re having yakisoba, fried dumplings, tuna sashimi, and I tried my hand at making sushi earlier.  It’s all vegetarian, but I think it turned out pretty well!”  He strolled back to the kitchen, humming all the way, leaving Naruto to make a face at the prospect of vegetables surrounded by nothing but rice and seaweed.

Naruto won a quick round of rock-paper-scissors to take a shower first, bringing his clothes to Hinata rather than just tossing them into the hallway.  She got oddly flustered when he stepped into the tiny laundry room to drop them off, even though he had a towel securely tied about his waist.  He just grinned; Hinata was funny about those kinds of things.

Showers were taken in short order, and before long they had all taken seats at the table to a wonderful spread.  Iruka had casually listed off the items for tonight’s menu, but he had really outdone himself this time.  All of the dishes looked like they ought to have been served in a fancy restaurant, with a taste to match the presentation.  Naruto even surprised himself by enjoying the sushi, although it did require heavy doses of soy sauce.  Dessert hadn’t been left out either; Iruka always said that no meal was complete without something sweet, and so he brought out a platter of chilled daifuku that had been made fresh that morning.  After a day like today, there could have been no better way to come home.

“You didn’t have to do the dishes, Sasuke,” Iruka tried to scold afterwards, but the Uchiha only shrugged on his way to the den to join Naruto and Hinata, who had already moved in after helping clean up and brewing some tea.  “But thank you all the same.”

“Thanks for the meal, Iruka-sensei,” he replied, “And for letting me stay.  I’ll need to get your recipe for that bean paste; Sakura’s been bugging me to make her something, and I think that’ll do the trick.”

“Sure thing,” the chūnin smirked.  “Are you and Sakura dating now?”  Sasuke missed a step, though he recovered so smoothly that it might have been Naruto’s imagination. 

“Ah, not really.  It’s complicated.”

“Sakura’s a nice girl, and I know she likes you plenty.  I know I don’t need to tell you not to wait too long before making your feelings clear – if that’s what you mean by ‘complicated,’ anyway.”  Iruka chuckled when a bit of red rose in the boy’s cheeks, and then went back to tidying up.  Naruto hid a slight grin, one that had not come about due to his friend’s embarrassment.  No, it wasn’t that.  It was just great to see that Iruka cared so much about his students to offer honest and valuable advice.  He was the perfect parent to a bunch of kids who – for a good portion of their young lives – hadn’t belonged to a complete family.

“So, what’s the plan?” Sasuke asked, dropping onto the couch at Naruto’s side opposite Hinata.  “Iruka said I’m welcome to the couch, though I don’t see why that’s necessary when there’ll be a spare bed somewhere.”  He leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head, relaxing.  “And don’t even try to deny it.”

“I, ah . . .” Naruto started, scratching behind one ear and glancing at Hinata.  She was very pointedly looking away and at nothing in particular.  “You’re just gonna have to be happy with the couch, sorry.”  Sasuke closed his eyes and grunted in assent, the slightest twitch of his lips indicating some amusement.  “Anyway, I’m not sure what to do about Kurama.  He’s still not awake, and I’m a little worried.”

“Want me to go in and wake him up?”  Sasuke suggested, opening one eye and activating his Sharingan preemptively.  “I think I could bring Hinata in, too.”

“You could?” she asked, attention back on the conversation.  “How?”

“Just a hunch,” he shrugged.  “I’ve gotten the hang of getting in and out on my own now, and I realized that it’s kind of like a genjutsu.  In a way, Naruto has his own little dimensional space in there, and part of what my kekkei genkai is good for is drawing people into my genjutsu.  Since I’m using the Sharingan to enter his mind – a different reality, sort of, like a genjutsu – it stands to reason that I should be able to drag somebody else in too.”

“That sounds . . . complicated,” Naruto admitted.  “Do you think it’s dangerous?”  He fidgeted with Hinata’s hand, tracing the lines of her palm with one of his fingers distractedly.  It wasn’t worth it if there was even a slight risk.

“None that I can think of.  At worst she might be stuck in a sort of limbo state, like being caught in a genjutsu.  In that case, we can just break her out of it when we come back.”

“Iruka-sensei,” Hinata said, calling into the kitchen.  The man popped his head into view, one eye raised questioningly.  “Do you think you could sit with us for a minute?”

“Er, sure,” he started, sounding curious as he entered the room carrying a washcloth.  “What’s up?”  She nodded at Sasuke, who sighed and explained the plan again.  By the end of it Iruka was scratching his head as if confused, but he nodded.

“Genjutsu was never my strongest point, but I can definitely interrupt somebody’s chakra flow when I need to.  I’ll just watch you and break the jutsu if it looks like something went wrong, alright?”  He stood across the coffee table from them, watching closely and taking on a serious expression.

“Thanks Iruka-sensei,” Naruto beamed, glad that they had backup.  “Time works really weird in there, so we should be out in just a few seconds.”  Iruka nodded, an action that Naruto forwarded to Sasuke.

“Alright, both of you just look at my eyes.  I don’t need to be staring straight into one or the other’s to do this right, but I’ll need to draw Hinata in as I take the dive.  Naruto, you can head in whenever; it’s not like I need to pull you there.”  Naruto nodded, squeezed Hinata’s hand once, and then sank into the recesses of his mind.

* * *

It seemed quieter than usual when Naruto arrived within the mindscape, and a bit dimmer unless he was mistaken.  Everything else looked the same, though: the giant bars, the seal placed over the cage’s center, the shin-deep water, and the ceiling fading into darkness.  The only oddity was the Fox himself, lying with his head between massive forepaws while growling very slightly at every voluminous exhale.

“Oh . . .” Hinata whispered from his left, drawing his gaze from Kurama.  She stood very still, eyes a bit wide while peering around the cavernous space.  “Hearing about it doesn't . . . It doesn't quite hold the same weight as seeing it for myself.”

“Welcome to the inside of Naruto's head,” Sasuke said, shoving one hand into a pocket and gesturing around with the other.  “Dank, dull, and filled with an ill-tempered bijū.  Kind of weird how it's the exact opposite of your actual self – except for the dull part.”

“Shut up, Sasuke.”  Naruto shoved him lightly, causing the boy to stagger a step over and curse.  Kurama rumbled a slightly louder snarl then, though whether in response to the movement or something innocuous was left in question.  Three pairs of eyes turned to the slumbering beast, each projecting a different emotion: one concerned, and one cautious, and one determined.

“Kurama?” Naruto started, approaching the cage slowly.  “Hey, Kurama!”  His shout gave rise to no response.

“Kurama-sama?” Hinata tried tentatively, though louder than her normal tone.

“Oi, stupid Fox,” Sasuke called, knocking a few times on one of the bars.  “Wake up; we need to talk to you.”

“Sasuke,” Hinata chastised, interrupted when the Kyūbi's ear twitched once, and then twice.  His huge eyes began to ease open, but as soon as the red of his irises became visible they snapped open fully.  With a feral roar he jerked upwards, coming to his feet and displacing a huge amount of water.  Waves hit the trio standing in front of the prison, forcing them back several steps.  For a few seconds Kurama let out heavy, rapid breaths, and Naruto could _feel_ the massive heartbeats of the frenzied creature through their connection.  Panic felt very, very wrong coming from him, but it was all too real.

“Should have just come here and insulted him in the first place,” Sasuke muttered, plucking at his soaked shirt.  It was only wet in here, obviously, but that didn't make the sensation any less real at the moment.

**_“What happened?”_**   The demand was sharp in Naruto's mind, the same as it likely was in his friends'.  Kurama sounded confused, and furious for it.

“Ah . . .” Naruto started, glancing at Sasuke and Hinata before looking back up.  “We were fighting that team from Kiri, remember?  I screwed up and used your chakra to block a kunai – I know, I know; I should have just used mine.  It was an accident.  But then I blacked out and . . .”  He filled in the gaps from there, using what his friends had explained to fill in the missing pieces and going all the way up until they had returned to Iruka's.  By the time he finished, the Kyūbi had calmed down somewhat, though he had turned that agitation into fury.

**_“Uchihas,”_** he growled, stamping a paw down and sending out another cascade of water.  **_“Those damned eyes are a curse to the world.”_**

“Hey, I'm right here,” Sasuke said flatly.  “It's not Uchihas or the Sharingan that are the problem.  It's the individuals who abuse their power, not the whole clan.”  Kurama looked like he wanted to reply to that, his lips curling up into a snarl, but Naruto inserted himself first.

“Do you know who it was?  I don't even remember seeing the eyes, let alone a whole person.”

**_“No,”_** Kurama spat, collapsing back to the ground.  He folded one paw over the other, resting his head on top in at least a semblance of normalcy.  Both eyes were still narrowed in anger, however ** _.  “Every Sharingan is unique, and I'd have known who it was if I had seen it before.  You probably couldn't see it because you're miserable with genjutsu.”_**   Naruto frowned, though not because of the final statement.

“So it isn't Itachi, or that guy who made you attack the village when I was born?”  Sasuke and Kakashi were ruled out by default, of course; Kurama wouldn't have excused them in any event.  The Fox didn't say anything, only closing his eyes for a moment, which came through their bond as a negative.  “So that means . . .”

“There's another Uchiha alive, or somebody who took a Sharingan,” Hinata put in, sounding as if she were thinking aloud.  She looked pensive.  “Is it possible that one of them was away on a mission when . . . when—”

“During the massacre?  No,” Sasuke said, folding his arms and drumming his fingers on the opposite bicep.  “The Uchiha were put in charge of Konoha's police force, and I remember a lot of them being upset about not being assigned missions.  Itachi was the only one who went out of the village regularly while in the ANBU.”

**_“Who handled the bodies?”_** Kurama asked, eyes shifting to Sasuke.  The boy blinked, his features becoming a mixture of suspicion and doubt.

“I don't know,” he admitted after a few seconds, sounding vexed.  “I woke up in the hospital after Itachi's Mangekyō rendered me unconscious, and from there I was interrogated for a few days.  The corpses had all been removed and buried in the cemetery by the time I got out.”  Hearing Sasuke speak about it in such a detached manner was upsetting, but there wasn't anything to do about Itachi's slaughter – yet.  They would cross that bridge when it was time, together.

**_“No point in exhuming; chances are that, if any Sharingan were removed, those bodies in particular would be conveniently missing.”_**   He huffed, the blast of warm air causing the tails of Naruto's headband to flutter backwards, and Hinata had to tame her billowing hair.  **_“Tsunade was right to tell you not to use my chakra, though it's telling that this person decided to act when they did.”_**

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked.

“It means that the user behind the Sharingan isn't very capable with it,” Sasuke reasoned, earning a slight nod from Kurama.  “They must be sufficiently strong to be capable of manipulating a bijū, but not strong enough to do it without Kurama being 'closer to the surface,' so to speak.”

“So basically,” Naruto began, trying to follow along, “As long as I don't use Kurama's chakra, I don't have to worry about it?”  He didn't quite understand what caused somebody's Sharingan to be stronger than another's, or why it could do certain things under only specific conditions, but Sasuke grunted in the affirmative to indicate that he was correct.  “Great, so I won't, but I'd really like to figure out the source of the problem instead of just reacting to it.”

**_“You do have a wise thought every so often,”_** the Kyūbi rumbled, finally sounding a bit more like his usual sarcastic self.  **_“I'll stay alert, but it would help to have a strong sensory type on hand.  You may want to keep your Byakugan active during Naruto's matches, too.”_**   Hinata nodded when she was addressed, but Naruto shook his head.

“Hinata, you have your own fights to worry about, and I don't want you using any extra chakra to keep an eye on me.”

“Just ask your clan to keep a look out during the finals,” Sasuke suggested.  “If Hiashi-sama and a few others split the effort, there shouldn't be any chance of something happening.”

“That's a good idea,” she replied, providing a soft smile.  “Like Tsunade-sama said: the more eyes we have on the lookout, the higher chance we have of catching whoever's responsible.”

**_“It will be interesting to watch you struggle without my chakra,”_** Kurama yawned, closing his eyes.

“I don't need to use your chakra in a one-on-one,” Naruto retorted, though he knew that the Fox was only being contrary for the sake of it.  “If I'm really struggling, I can always just summon Feng-sama to help.”  Kurama snorted a laugh.

**_“You'd best not summon The Ancient Fire just to win you a petty chūnin exam.  I doubt he would object, but it's a matter of respect.  You'll just have to win on your own power, which you just_ might _be able to do.”_**   That was as close to encouragement as the stubborn beast was likely to give.  He settled further, keeping both eyes closed.  **_“Now if you three don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep.”_**

“Didn't you just sleep for the whole day?” Naruto asked, smirking.

**_“If you can call being knocked out by a powerful genjutsu ‘sleeping,’ yes,”_** the Fox drawled.  Naruto winced, recalling quite vividly just how exhausted he got every time Kakashi made them practice genjutsu.  Even waking up after today's incident had left him fatigued, and he hadn't technically been the one influenced.

“Alright, well, I'm glad you're awake again.  I was starting to miss having your annoying voice in my head.”  Another snort was Kurama's only response.  Naruto grinned and shook his head before nodding to Sasuke and Hinata.  It was time to go.

* * *

The apartment came back into view as soon as Naruto made the conscious effort to return.  It wasn’t nearly as jarring an experience as it once had been, now more like closing your eyes for a few seconds to change the view.  Iruka was still standing there, blinking down at the trio curiously.  Sasuke blinked out of his genjutsu, and a moment later Hinata did as well, her eyelids fluttering rapidly for several seconds as if trying to catch up to the transition.

“How’d it go?  It’s only been about two seconds on my end,” Iruka said, and Naruto grinned.  It shouldn’t have been surprising that the man wasn’t at all flustered by the odd time differential.

“Kurama woke up after Sasuke called him stupid,” Naruto started, chuckling.

“I have a way with animals,” Sasuke smirked.

“Uh-huh, anyway . . . He’s awake, but he doesn’t know who it was.  It wasn’t Itachi, though, or that guy I told you about who made Kurama attack Konoha.”  Iruka nodded in response to Naruto’s explanation, though he visibly tensed at the mention of the mysterious ninja.  It had only been a recent revelation, one that they still needed to tell Kakashi about.  There was just so much going on all the time that it was easy to forget little details.  “He said we’ll just need to be careful, and that Tsunade-sama was right to tell me not to use his chakra.  That was really it.”

“Are you going to be alright without that power?” Iruka asked, prompting a disgruntled look from Naruto.  “I know that you’re strong without it,” he qualified, “But to me it’s just more protection to ensure that you don’t get hurt.  It would have been disastrous if that kunai had reached you, for example.”  That was putting it lightly.

“I think it’s a good thing,” Hinata put in, which got Naruto blinking.  A good thing?  “You’ve said a lot in the past that you don’t like having to rely on that power to be strong, so this is really an opportunity to test your limits, right?”

“I guess so,” he sighed.  “I’m a lot slower without it, though.”

“You’ll just have to infuse more of your own chakra for taijutsu to make up for it,” Sasuke put in.  “Your technique isn’t exactly awful, and maybe you could talk to Lee or Gai about opening those gates.  I tried it once, and I’m pretty convinced that it has more to do with innate ability than anything else.  Kakashi-sensei can only open one, and you know how strong he is.”

“Lee-san always says it took him years of hard work to achieve,” Naruto said dubiously, though it couldn’t hurt to try.  Evening opening one gate would increase his strength considerably, which would translate to additional speed as a matter of course.  “I kinda had something else in mind, though.  My taijutsu is good enough without Kurama’s chakra; it’s one of the things I’ve worked hardest on since I was little.”

“What did you have in mind?” Iruka asked.

“Well, I’ve gotta ask Jiraiya-sensei about it first,” he admitted, “But I’ll let you know how it goes.  I doubt he’ll teach me what I want to learn, though.”

Iruka left to allow them to talk amongst themselves, deciding to get to sleep early so that he could make them breakfast in the morning.  Naruto and Hinata eventually bid Sasuke goodnight, leaving him with a few blankets and a pillow from the linen closet before retiring to their own rooms.  Well, at least that was where they went first.

* * *

Naruto lay with his hands under his head, staring up at the ceiling in the darkness.  He could feel Hinata in the bed beside him, still awake but letting him think.  She was considerate like that.  At times like these he might be speaking with Kurama about something or another, hearing stories about his parents, different jutsu they had mastered and things like that.  But for now the Fox needed to sleep; they’d have plenty of time to talk later.  He preferred talking to his girlfriend more anyway.

“I’m gonna ask Jiraiya-sensei if he’ll teach me some fūinjutsu,” he said after a while, hearing Hinata shift so that she could face him.

“I can see why you don’t think he’ll teach you,” she replied, and he could picture the way she was probably chewing on her lip.  “But I’m sure he’ll be reasonable if he knows about what happened.”

“Yeah . . . I just don’t think he wants me using any jikūkan ninjutsu at all after that thing with the Hiraishin, and not to mention he knows that I want to loosen Kurama’s seal.”  He made a face, which Hinata responded to by leaning over to kiss his scrunched-up lips.  It was easy to forget that she could see him all the time when her Byakugan was activated.  “Hey, that Tenzō guy is keeping a lookout these next few days, and there are probably more if I know Tsunade-sama.  You don’t have to keep watch too.”

“I want to,” she said simply, and Naruto had no argument for that.  If their situations were reversed, he would be alert to the point of paranoia.

“Well, good luck watching out for an attack while you’re distracted!”  He rolled over and proceeded to ‘distract’ as best he could, though it was more likely that the real success was diverting his own attention.  Still, he did a pretty good job judging by those soft sounds she made.  They always made him feel warm inside – and a bit squiggly, for some reason.

/*\

It was still dark when Team Seven departed in the morning, and as promised Iruka had come through with a huge meal beforehand.  Who didn’t love fried eggs, rice, miso soup, and fresh fruit for breakfast?  With a solid plan for lunch – Ichiraku, of course – they arrived at the bridge in northern Konoha with time to spare and, much to everybody’s surprise, Kakashi was already there.

“Yo,” he greeted them.  “I’m going to guess that you three have training plans already?”  Their instructor knew them too well.

“I’m gonna find Jiraiya-sensei and see if he’ll teach me some fūinjutsu,” Naruto answered, scratching behind one ear.  “Aren’t you supposed to be the one suggesting things for us first?”

“All three of you are highly skilled with taijutsu and a variety of ninjutsu, and while you’re not very capable with genjutsu, I’ve at least taught you enough to recognize and break free of one.  I think any training you do these next three days should be highly specialized based on the opponents you’ll face, and I trust each of you to make that decision for your own.”  Naruto beamed at the compliment, Hinata smiled, and Sasuke shrugged.

“I want to work with you.  I think I’m ready to try out the Raikiri.”  Kakashi raised an eyebrow at his student’s assertion, but didn’t offer any protest.  As he had said, it was Sasuke’s decision to make.

“Hinata?” the jōnin asked, which made Naruto realize that even he didn’t know what she planned on doing.  He felt a bit guilty for not asking and being far too focused on himself.

“Ano . . .” For the first time in what felt like forever, Hinata pressed her fingers together in a genuine show of embarrassment.  “Sarutobi-sama agreed to help me train for the exam.”  Sasuke coughed, and Naruto’s eyes went a little wide.  “I asked him before the last exam, thinking that we might not get too long of a break between the second and third stages.  I wouldn’t want to make him train me for a whole month.”

“That sounds like so much fun!” Naruto laughed, happy that she’d found somebody.  “Do you know what he’ll be teaching you?”  She shook her head, blushing slightly but sharing a smile.

“The Sandaime was a prodigy in his youth, renowned as the God of Shinobi.  He trained the Sannin, if you recall,” Kakashi put in, appearing overly amused.  “I think he’s a perfect choice for you, Hinata.  He also went by ‘The Professor,’ a title earned for his mastery of all forms of combat.  I’m confident that he’ll be able to teach you something to beat these two knuckleheads in the final round.”

“Hey, you’re not supposed to play favorites,” Sasuke said, clearly joking.  Probably.  He was the one training with their instructor, after all.

“It doesn’t matter which of us makes it to the last fight,” Naruto commented with his signature broad grin.  “It’s gonna be great either way, and I can’t wait!”  They all nodded, and then it was time to go.

“Don’t forget about lunch!” Naruto called back to Sasuke as he and Hinata began walking west along the path.  The other boy raised a hand in recognition before he and Kakashi both vanished, probably off to some remote location to prepare in secret.  “Man, I really hope Sasuke doesn’t figure out the Raikiri.  His Chidori is already scary enough, and I have to fight him in the third round.”

“Naruto,” she chided, nudging him with her shoulder as they walked.

“Yeah, I know – overconfidence.”

“Well yes, _that_ ,” she laughed, “But you should hope that Sasuke grows stronger just as you and I will.  You did say that it doesn’t matter who gets to the final round, remember?”

“Yeah, but,” he started, knowing that a flush was coming on.  “I still like to win.”  She nudged him again, slipping a hand into his at the same time.

“You’re incorrigible, Uzumaki Naruto.”

“Encourage-able?”  That sounded like a funny thing to be in light of what he had just said, but Hinata’s giggle signaled that it might not be so bad.  “I guess I can be sometimes, huh?”

They walked and kept up conversation all the way to the academy, above which towered the Hokage’s office.  Hiruzen had retired to his clan’s humble estate just north of here, and had agreed to meet Hinata for tea early this morning to discuss plans for the next few days.  She was quieter than usual, a clear indicator that nervousness had begun to creep in.

“Good luck, Hinata,” he said quietly, pulling her into a tight hug.  “You’re gonna do great!”  She returned the embrace with equal fervor before stepping back, smiling at him.

“Thank you, Naruto.  I want to know what you’ll be learning with Jiraiya-sama, so don’t forget about lunch.”  He drew back a corner of his lips and raised an eyebrow, silently asking ‘Are you crazy?  Me, missing lunch?’  She giggled again; he loved hearing that sound.

Naruto stretched and sighed after Hinata was out of sight, turning eastward to look down the long street that eventually led straight out of Konoha.  The sun was finally peeking above the horizon, which meant that people would soon be out and about on daily chores and errands.  He didn’t really want to be around for that; people hadn’t been looking too kindly at him since the last exams.

“Kuchiyose no Jutsu.”  He placed a hand on the ground, blossoming jutsu-shiki outward just before the telltale cloud of smoke birthed Huang into being.  The phoenix sang a sound of delight and swooped over, alighting on his shoulder and nuzzling near his jaw.  “Heh, nice to see you too, Huang-san.  I’m gonna need your company for a few days, I think.  For now, though, can you help me find Jiraiya-sensei again?  It’s time to get to work!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks~
> 
> Nothing too exciting here, and a touch short of my average, but I decided to take it easy in preparation for the next couple of chapters. I’ve been doing a lot of fight-planning in my head, as well as making sure certain plot lines are developing and coming to fruition very soon. Stay tuned; the next handful of chapters are going to flip this fic on its head as we move into the next arc!
> 
> A big ol’ thank you to all of the readers, and especially to those who take the time to review or even just add CFKD to their favorites/follows. It’s all lovely, and inspires me to keep writing.
> 
> As always, a hearty thanks to Rhi for her editing work. I think she caught something like a million spelling errors in this chapter, and made my phrasing all nice. She da best.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> \- Wes


	32. Fighting Friends & Fears

“We agreed not to tell each other anything specific,” Sasuke said flatly, meeting Naruto's gaze without blinking.  “You'll find out what I worked on in the third round.”

“Boring,” Naruto sighed.He didn't mean it, though.They were just killing time until the finals at this point, and what better way to entertain himself than to needle Sasuke?“You probably only learned how to use the Raikiri – _if_ that!”

“I guess you'll see soon enough.”The other boy shrugged and laced his fingers behind his head, leaning back on the bench they were sharing.He really was boring.“Would have been nice if Jiraiya had taught you a sealing technique for your loud mouth, but I'm more curious about what kind of training Hinata did with the Sandaime.”

“You'll have to wait and see, too,” Hinata replied before Naruto could fit in a retort.She fidgeted, drawing his attention to where she sat holding one of his hands.As often happened when lost in thought, she had taken to tracing the lines of his palm.

“What's up?” he asked, catching her finger and drawing out a small smile.She gave a very slight shake of her head, and then simply looked up instead of responding.Naruto followed her gaze as it climbed higher and higher.He understood.The arena loomed above, casting a long shadow in the early morning light.It had been almost completely repaired since the last set of exams, some scaffolding near the upper rim the only proof that Shukaku had once decimated that whole section.Today was the day they went back in there.It was a place of bad memories, but also a testament to Konoha's will and determination to forge forward in spite of the past.That was what Iruka had said, anyway.He didn't really remember much of that day, so it was really just a big building to him.

“We won't have anything to worry about this time,” Sasuke remarked, yawning and settling back with half-lidded eyes.It gave him the appearance of laziness, but Naruto could tell that his friend was completely alert.“The security is pretty crazy, if you haven't noticed.”It was hard to miss the pairs of chūnin and jōnin walking about openly, but he knew that Sasuke was referring to the ones unseen.Hinata had already sensed or seen several ANBU shinobi hiding throughout the grounds surrounding the arena, and even Naruto had been able to catch sight of one concealed on a rooftop.According to her, there was one in the tree just across the walkway from them, but it would have been impossible to tell without the Byakugan.

“Yeah, it wasn’t anything like this last time,” Naruto added, trying to cheer her up.“And we even have our own personal bodyguard, too.”None of them had been able to catch sight of Tenzō, but Tsunade had said that he would be tailing at all times and ready to intervene if something went wrong.

“I’m not worried about another invasion,” Hinata said, her eyes going back to Naruto’s hand.She was worrying at her lower lip.“I doubt any nation would try that right now, especially considering our recent alliance with Sunagakure.I just . . . We had to watch you die last time, Naruto.I know we’ve made our peace with what happened, but it came about because one of the other participants was a jinchūriki too.This exam is dangerous even without a full scale battle going on, and both of you have powerful enemies with vendettas.”That had all come out in a rush, as if she had been holding it in for a while.A deep breath followed, and she began to fidget once more.“You have to fight that genin from the Stone, too, and by all accounts he’s extremely dangerous.”

“Better taijutsu and faster than Lee with three gates open, mastered earth and really good at fire techniques,” Naruto listed off, trying not to sound too unconcerned.“He’s strong; I tracked down Team Gai and Sakura to learn what I could about him, and even bothered Kiba and Shino in the hospital.They didn’t appreciate that very much.”He made a face, eliciting a small smile from Hinata.Good; he didn’t like it when she was upset, and knowing that he had done research on his opponent would give her some peace of mind.“But I know I can beat him.Jiraiya-sensei taught me some really cool stuff to use that play to my strengths, and I’ve got so many people looking after me that there’s no reason to be worried about anything with Kurama.”That was probably on her mind too, he knew.She nodded, and he gave her hand a squeeze.“It’ll work out just like Sasuke said, you’ll see.Me and him get to duke it out in the third round, and then you’ll fight one of us in the final match.”

“So yeah, hope you’re ready for our fight, Hinata,” Sasuke said casually.

“Sasuke . . .” Naruto and Hinata said in unison, his tone challenging while hers remained softly chastising.The boy only smirked and stood up to stretch before continuing.

“Come on.It’s probably close to seven now, and I want to be first in.”They had been sitting together since about six, having left home a bit early to meet Kakashi for a last minute pep talk and word of caution.Their sensei had been uncharacteristically focused, and spent a good portion of the meeting making sure Naruto wasn’t about to tap into the Kyūbi’s power – which was ridiculous, frankly.Why would he even consider doing that after what Tsunade had said?

Hinata stood with Naruto, both falling in beside their friend and starting towards the arena as one.More people were out and about now, most of whom were heading towards the various spectator entrances.Team Seven got a handful of glances and excited whispers, but for the most part they were given a wide birth, more than a few wary looks being thrown their way.Naruto could only assume that they were intended for him; which of the other two had given the villagers a reason to be upset?It was strange, really.Years ago he would have appreciated this level of civility from people, but now . . . He had worked so hard to become a ninja and had vowed to protect the village, proving that he was capable on several occasions even.That was probably why he didn’t get _really_ nasty looks anymore, but this was almost worse.The ones whose eyes he caught looked fearful rather than disgusted, as if they expected him to suddenly transform into Kurama and start decimating parts of the village again.He couldn’t blame them, but it just didn’t feel fair.

“Naruto?” Hinata’s voice snapped him out of some momentary brooding, and he relaxed the grip on her hand.He had been holding on a bit too tight.

“Sorry,” he said with a sheepish grin, hoping she hadn’t realized the cause.“I was just thinking about something.”

“Better clear your head,” Sasuke suggested.“Even for us, going into the finals distracted is practically inviting a loss.”Naruto nodded, but said nothing further as they passed through the broad open doors and into the short tunnel.Hinata gave his hand a tight squeeze.She had probably noticed, like always.

They passed through the shadowed corridor and into the shaded grounds of the arena, stopping to survey the rejuvenated surface.It looked almost the same as last time, with perhaps a few extra trees planted around the perimeter and a hillock added in the middle.The rest was hard packed dirt and rock, ready as it could be for the destruction about to take place.

“Hah!Told you they’d try to get here first.”Tenten waved from the stone wall just inside the door, Neji leaning just beside her.Lee gave an exuberant salute before replacing the hand behind his back, using the other to carry on with his pushups.

“Man, we almost let two teams beat us here,” Naruto laughed, squinting against the climbing sun as three figures descended from high above.Gaara, Temari, and Kankurō stepped off of their platform of sand, affording nods all around before moving to join Team Gai on the wall.Hinata broke off to speak to Tenten a short distance away, no doubt about their upcoming matches and potentially fighting one another later on.She had been anxious about it all week.Lee leapt to his feet and moved with Neji towards the newest arrivals just as Sasuke and Naruto converged.

“Ready for our rematch?” Sasuke asked casually, extending a hand to Gaara.The other boy nodded, and actually smirked very slightly when taking the offered hand.

“I look forward to it.”

“I don’t envy either of you,” Kankurō muttered.“But I’m also not looking forward to my first match, either.”

“You mean your last match,” Naruto winked, extending his fist.The older boy grimaced, but still offered his own fist to rap knuckles in a friendly enough fashion.“Just kidding – seriously.I’m pretty excited to be fighting you first; I’ve never gone against a puppet user before.”

“Want some tips?” Temari asked with a sly grin.“My first match is going to be a breeze, so I don’t have anything better to do besides telling you how to beat my brother.”

“That was a good joke, Temari-san,” Lee put in, blinking several times when everybody gave him quizzical looks.“She said it would be a breeze!” he pointed out emphatically.It took a second, but Naruto barked out a laugh after a few seconds, and the kunoichi in question sighed.

“Ready for your fight with Sakura?” Sasuke asked him.Lee looked dismayed, but gave a resigned nod.

“Sakura-san made me promise not to ‘pull any punches.’She said it would be insulting, and I do not want to insult her.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Sasuke smirked.“But it might be wise not to open too many gates off the bat.I honestly don’t know how much she’s improved since the last exam, but I know that she was one of the weaker participants at the time.”Lee nodded almost too quickly, as if he had been waiting for somebody to give him permission not to go all out on the girl.Still, that promise would prevent him from going easy.

“What’re you boys talking about?”Lee swallowed hard, and his eyes got a little wide at the sound of Sakura’s voice.Naruto turned to find her walking towards them, Shino and Kiba disappearing just beyond the doorway.

“Our upcoming matches,” Sasuke replied honestly, and he went on in a deceivingly casual tone at the quirk of her eyebrow.“How’d training with Kurenai-sensei go?”

“We’ll just call it . . . interesting.You’ll find out soon enough, around the same time as Lee-senpai.”She smiled sweetly, prompting Lee to swallow again.

The remaining genin filtered in gradually over the next hour, the rising hum of voices serving as a countdown to eight o’clock.Shikamaru and Ino strolled in not long after Sakura, followed closely by the Grass-nin that was to be Temari’s opponent.Hinata’s challenger came afterwards, a willowy young woman that had likely been a genin for years if age was any indicator.Genma simply appeared near the center of the arena at some point, and the pair from Iwa came walking in just as he was clearing his throat to begin the announcements.A pair of chūnin swung the large double doors closed on their heels, and the dull roar of the crowd died down to an excited buzz.

“The first match will begin in five minutes,” Genma announced, his voice carrying clearly over the noise.He had made a few hand seals and muttered a technique beforehand, making Naruto think that it must have been something like the opposite of the Wind Whisper jutsu.“Please find your way to your seats.As for you all,” he continued at a normal volume, regarding the sixteen contestants gathered, “For those that were in attendance last time, you know the rules.For those who weren’t: there are no rules.Use whatever type of combat, jutsu, and tools you want in order to defeat your opponent.The fight ends when one person dies or gives up, but I have the final say on whether it’s over.If I call it done, it’s done, and don’t argue.Do we all understand?”He waited until every one of them nodded before going on.“Good.The first match is between Nara Shikamaru and Kinōda.You two will remain here while the rest make their way to the spectating level.”He pointed, indicating the same viewing area that had been used last time.It had escaped destruction only by being on the opposite side from where Shukaku had appeared.

“Kick his ass,” Naruto said with a grin, extending his fist to Shikamaru.The other boy shrugged and reciprocated the gesture without comment, and without enthusiasm.That seemed mostly like Shikamaru, but it wasn’t hard to tell that he was distracted by something.It was hard to blame him knowing who his probably-not-genin adversary was.Naruto glanced at Kinōda, wondering.He was obviously older than them by a few years and of a build similar to Kiba’s, with hard coppery eyes and long brown hair tied up in a tail.Nothing about him spoke of strength, really, but he did look extremely serious, and sort of gave off the impression of danger.

“How do you think it’ll go?” Sasuke asked as soon as they emerged onto the inlet balcony, walking over to lean on the railing.His voiced was pitched low, probably so that others wouldn’t hear.

“I really hope Shikamaru wins, but he didn’t look very confident,” Hinata whispered, joining them overlooking the arena floor.

“It just looked like he was thinking to me,” Naruto shrugged, though he supposed she was closer to right.Hinata had a way of reading people that he lacked.“Either way, if I know Shikamaru he’ll come with a lot of plans even if his opponent is stronger.Remember how I told you they fought me?I bet he’ll pull out some crazy new tactics here.”

“Hope so,” Sasuke said, quieting when another voice echoed around the stands.

“Welcome to Konohagakure and the Chūnin Selection Exam,” Tsunade boomed, drawing out a roar from the crowd.“We are honored to be hosting this great event once again, together in collaboration with our friends from Sunagakure.These exams have always been a way for villages to display the rising power of their newest generation of shinobi,” she continued with surprising frankness, “But I want this to also serve as an opportunity to build relationships and strengthen existing ties with one another.As you all know, a great tragedy occurred here not long ago, and it would be folly to ignore what happened, just as it would be to not learn and grow from it.I wish you to join me now in a moment of reverence for the innocents who were killed that day, as well as for those who lost their lives in that regrettable conflict.”

Complete silence pervaded the amphitheater.The memories of the invasion were still fresh in the minds of Konoha’s citizens, and a great shame in those attending from Suna.Tsunade had kept her message strictly diplomatic as to not offend anyone, but it was well known that the Sand’s leadership had been manipulated by Orochimaru and the Sound.Even so, this alliance was a contentious topic in the village, and it was very likely that the Hokage was trying to help relations as best she could.

“Thank you all.It is now my great pleasure to announce the commencement of the thirty-fourth open Chūnin Selection Exam.Please enjoy the matches.”Tsunade nodded as the cacophony rose again, returning to her seat.Naruto saw her lean over to speak to an incredibly old woman wearing a headband and strange clothes, sitting next to an equally old man with equally strange clothes and extremely long eyebrows.They must have been emissaries from the Sand serving as the interim leaders.

“Didn’t think she could sound that pleasant,” Sasuke muttered, barely audible over the noise.Naruto chuckled, and Hinata gave him a reproving look.They quieted and turned their attentions to the arena floor quickly enough, eyes on the pair about to face off.

“The first match is between Nara Shikamaru and Kinōda of the Hidden Stone,” Genma announced, drawing yet more acclamation.He was interrupted, however, when the latter genin spoke up loud enough to be heard without amplification.

“Waruagaki Kinōda.”The jōnin blinked and raised a curious eyebrow in response.“My name is Waruagaki Kinōda.My village doesn’t care much for clan names and didn’t include it with the application.But I care, and I want you to include it.”Genma tsked, but complied despite his agitation.

“Nara Shikamaru and Waruagaki Kinōda.”He took several steps away from the pair and raised his hand, stifling the spectators for a moment of anticipation.He glanced at Shikamaru, then at Kinōda, and then allowed his arm to drop.“Begin!”

Kinōda shifted his feet, but made no movements.Shikamaru only watched, hands firmly in his pockets and expression communicating disinterest.Neither so much as twitched for a full minute, and then another, and another.Murmurs began to rise in the stands, some even raising jeers and calling for some action.Finally, after a good five minutes had passed, something happened.

“They’re just . . . talking?” Naruto asked, squinting down at the pair.“Can anyone hear what they’re saying?”

“‘Use your shadow jutsu,’” Sasuke quoted, prompting a few of the contestants to glance curiously at him.“‘I won’t move until it’s in place, and then you can decide if you want to continue.’That’s what the Iwa-nin just said.”

“Should you be using those to lip read when you have a match with Gaara-san pretty soon?” Sakura asked, sounding halfway between scolding and impressed.Sasuke shrugged.

“I’ve trained with my Sharingan so much that I could probably keep it up all the time if I really wanted to.I nearly replenish chakra at the same rate it’s spent unless I’m using it for genjutsu or . . . other things.”

“That guy sounds cocky,” Naruto grunted, uninterested in a conversation about Sasuke’s use of dōjutsu.“What’s Shikamaru saying?”

“‘I knew this was going to be troublesome.’”Despite that statement, Shikamaru clasped his hands together in the rat seal.“‘Shadow Imitation.’”Kinōda went rigid as soon as the shadow merged with his, but a moment later took a slow, straining step forward.

“No way . . .” Ino gasped.“It doesn’t look like he’s even using chakra!”

“He is,” Hinata assured, using her own kekkei genkai to study the genin.“And a lot of it, but extremely concentrated into the muscles he needs to move.”Shikamaru appeared to be clenching his teeth, feet being dragged forward by the other boy’s movements.He was a captive to his own technique so long as it held.Kinōda closed the distance between them gradually, every step taking a tremendous effort, but it wasn’t long before they were face to face.He drew a fist back.

Shikamaru exploded into a cloud of smoke.Kinōda leapt back, his shadow no longer bound by the other boy’s, landing in a wary fighting stance.The haze cleared quickly, but Shikamaru was nowhere to be seen.Where he had been standing, however, was a rapidly shrinking shadow.

“Where . . .?”Naruto began.Sasuke nodded towards Kinōda – or rather, his shadow.It was growing darker.A dozen black tendrils shot up an instant later, binding all along the Iwa-nin’s legs, arms, torso, and neck before drawing tight in a flash.He strained against the force, but seemed unable to move.His shadow bulged and shifted, and gasps rippled through the crowd as Shikamaru stood slowly, having materialized from the darkness itself.

“I’m impressed,” Temari whistled, grinning down at the fight.The crowd finally figured out what had happened and thundered its approval.“I didn’t even see it.”

“‘Shadow Sewing successful,’” Sasuke quoted, shaking his head.“I barely saw it myself.He made a clone, switched places with it, sank into his own shadow and released the Imitation jutsu so fast that it might as well have been one simultaneous action.I have no idea how he did it, though.”

“Hidden in Shadows,” Ino stated proudly.“He invented it himself, and it’s so damn cool!”

“Hell yeah!” Naruto exclaimed.“That’s what that guy gets for being cocky!”

“The fight isn’t over,” a deep voice said from behind them.Naruto turned with a raised eyebrow, finding the source to be Kinōda’s teammate – Chiyūda if memory served right.He was much bigger up close.“No one can beat Kinōda.”

“Looks like he’s having a bit of a hard time right now,” Naruto shrugged, not wanting to go much further with the debate.Hinata didn’t like it when he picked fights.Chiyūda only nodded, not taking his eyes from the pair at the center of the ring.Unfortunately, his cautioning turned out to be prophetic.

“Doton: Quake!”A haze of chakra shot up around Kinōda, a testament to just how much he was pumping into his limbs in order to move.He clasped both hands together and roared the technique, and immediately the ground ruptured in a gigantic radius around him.The whole arena shook, indicating that chakra had been sent as far down as the foundations.Shikamaru was forced to leap away, taking to one of the trees by the outer edge to avoid the major effects of the jutsu.By the time everything settled, the floor had gone through such a major upheaval that it looked like the result of a landslide.And that was only the beginning.

“That guy has chakra for days,” Naruto commented, watching as massive gouts of fire began spewing from the boy’s mouth.He interwove earth techniques as well, resulting in a constant onslaught that had Shikamaru running and dodging for his life.The shadows were unreliable now that the ground had been broken up, and even then Kinōda had proven that they couldn’t hold him.

“He just keeps saying, ‘Too troublesome,’” Sasuke said.“Looks like it, too.”

In between a scattering of fireballs and spikes of earth, Shikamaru flipped and threw a single shuriken straight across the arena.Kinōda ignored it in favor of making more hand seals and continuing with the attack, which he didn’t appear to be letting up with at all.Naruto watched curiously as the knife zipped across to a scorched tree, and suddenly two more kunai shot out of some burned undergrowth.They flew out in separate directions, and when they struck the walls near the rim more kunai began flying.The chain reaction happened so fast that it seemed more than two dozen kunai had come out of thin air, all ricocheting off of one another and springing a mind-boggling number of traps.Where had he found the time to even set them while on the run?

“Cloak of Shadows!”A dark form shot out of a covering of dust resulting from a boulder Kinōda had tossed, and Naruto recognized it as Shikamaru coated in his own shadow.He had mastered the manipulation to such a degree that he could charge head on at his opponent, tendrils of shadow lashing out to either side and pulling him this way and that in order to rapidly avoid the fire and earth coming his way.It almost looked like he was flying, his feet hardly even touching the ground for the way the darkness guided his path.

“Doton: Stone Armor!”Steel clattered off of hardened earth that had formed around Kinōda, the second skin providing a suitable defense against the kunai.Even still, Shikamaru’s shadow snatched a few of the weapons still flying through the air, redirecting them mid-flight towards the other boy’s unprotected face.Kinōda blocked them with a stone-covered arm, and then the melee began.

It was abundantly clear that Shikamaru lacked the power to break Kinōda’s guard, but he had speed enough with his shadow’s extra attacks to keep his opponent on the defensive – just as he had when fighting against Naruto.The crowd was ecstatic at the action, but it was clear to any pair of trained eyes how the fight would end.Naruto frowned.

Shikamaru’s shadow melted back into the ground and attached to Kinōda’s, and he sank down to one knee.Breaths were coming in hard and fast, and the sweat coating his face could be seen even from that distance.Kinōda’s fist was quivering a few centimeters from Shikamaru’s nose, the stone around his knuckles cracked but remaining in place.He was breathing hard, too, but still managed to take a laborious step forward, urging that fist to make contact.Shikamaru said something, and Genma raised his hand before Sasuke could interpret for them.

“Nara Shikamaru concedes the match.Waruagaki Kinōda is the victor.”The spectators faltered in their acclamation, no doubt surprised by the sudden surrender.Cheers picked up shortly, though, and Kinōda straightened as soon as Shikamaru’s shadow fell away from his own, allowing the stone armor to fall away.Naruto spotted several angry red marks and budding bruises along his shoulders and arms.Shikamaru attempted to stand up, wavered once, and fell back to his knees.

“He used up almost all of his chakra,” Hinata said with no small amount of concern, letting her Byakugan recede.“It looked like he had been measuring it out during the fight, and planned around exactly as much as he needed.”

“He was not taking the match seriously,” Lee put in, sounding upset.All eyes turned to him, questioning.“I cannot say about his ninjutsu, but he was pulling punches and intentionally slowing himself down with that earth technique.He was much faster than that when I fought him.”

“He could have used a variety of stronger ninjutsu, too,” Neji said, folding his arms.“Those were all fairly basic techniques, even if dangerous.He was conserving chakra.”

“Crazy,” Naruto sighed, shaking his head.“It looked like Shikamaru gave it everything he had, too.That guy really is strong.”

“That was probably his plan all along,” Sasuke mused.“I think he knew from the other teams that there wasn’t much a chance of beating that guy, so he might have drawn out as much as he could just to give the next person a better shot.”

“Sounds like something he would do.”Ino’s tsk sounded more annoyed than angry.“I guess that counts as planning a few steps ahead.”Chūnin were already out on the grounds smoothing the broken arena floor in preparation for the next fight.Meanwhile, Kinōda had actually offered a hand to help the other boy up.They were walking together towards the small infirmary door, Shikamaru being supported on Kinōda’s shoulder.“At least he’s a good sport.”

The arena was repaired in short order, and the buzz of the crowd started growing again just as Kinōda returned to the spectating area.It had been a short but exciting match to start the day out, and they were ready for more.The Iwa-nin strolled up and leaned casually on the railing nearby, not saying a word.He didn’t even appear winded anymore, and up close his minor injuries looked paltry.

_Man, he’s gonna be a tough match after all._

**_Did you have it in your mind that it wouldn’t be?_ **

_Not really, but I was hoping not to have to show off too much before fighting Sasuke.After seeing him fight, though, I think I’ll have to use at least one of the techniques that Jiraiya-sensei taught me._

**_I hope you don’t mean the last one he showed you.That kid has an unnatural amount of chakra._ **

_I won’t use it unless I have to, but it may be my best shot._

**_I think it’s unwise, but do as you wish.I would suggest sticking with your first plan._ **

“Naruto?”Hinata’s voice brought him back to reality.He blinked, then realized everybody was looking at him, and Kankurō was disappearing into the exit tunnel.

“Oh, sorry; I was thinking about something.Did Genma-sensei announce my fight?”She nodded and squeezed his hand, which he responded to by grinning and leaning in to kiss her forehead.“Alright – be right back!”

“Be safe!” she called as he vaulted the railing.He waved in response while plummeting downward, trickling chakra into his feet so that he could slide down the wall.

“Ask Genma to amplify the sound in the arena,” Sasuke’s voice said in his ear.He must have been using the Wind Whisper jutsu for it to be coming so clearly through the rush of air.“I don’t want to have to keep telling everybody what’s going on.”Naruto smirked and raised his hand again, providing a thumbs-up to indicate that he had received the message.That was a great idea.

Kankurō found his way to the center of the arena a good deal after Naruto had already arrived, though he didn’t seem surprised by that.He only sighed and removed the bundle of bandages from his back, setting it down with a heavy thud and waiting for Genma to start the match.

“Good luck,” Naruto said amiably, raising a fist.

“Thanks,” Kankurō replied unconvincingly, meeting Naruto’s knuckles with his own.“I’d appreciate it if you would try not to break my puppets.”

“No promises!”

“Figured.”

“The second match is between Uzumaki Naruto and Kankurō of the Hidden Sand,” Genma proclaimed, stopping to speak to the latter in a normal tone.“Did you want to add a name at the last second, too?”

“We do things a bit different in Suna,” was all Kankurō said, and Genma took that as a negative.He raised his hand, ready to begin the match, but Naruto spoke up quickly.

“Genma-sensei, do you think you could amplify all of the contestants’ voices too?We want to be able to hear what’s going on, and Sasuke’s getting annoyed having to read lips.”Genma looked about ready to spit his senbon straight into Naruto’s eye, but paused to think about the request before doing so.

“Not a bad idea.”He failed to say whether or not he would do it.The jōnin’s hand fell.“Begin!”

Naruto wasn’t about to stand around like the last fighters had.He surged forward, pushing more chakra than normal into each leg in order to match his cloaked speed.Kankurō appeared unprepared, only having time to widen his eyes before Naruto’s fist made contact with his chest.He channeled a sliver of chakra into his hand in the same instant, applying the Hiraishin seal on contact just in case.A crunching sound indicated the breaking of bones – or so it first seemed.Wood splintered, and suddenly Kankurō’s faux body exploded outward into hundreds of pieces around Naruto.He noticed the nearly invisible chakra threads too late – well, almost too late.

Senbon made a pincushion out of the replacement Naruto switched with, the projectiles firing out of nearly every piece that the revealed puppet had split into.He slid to a halt a few meters back from the starting point, plucking a single needle from where it had nearly pierced his body armor.That had been far too close; those things were probably poison-tipped if he knew Kankurō.

“Almost,” the puppet sighed with its user’s voice, already reconstituting into Kankurō’s image.It leaned down to right the large cloth-wrapped bundle that had fallen to the ground, and Naruto smirked.That must be the real thing.

_Fūton: Great Vacuum Sphere._ Naruto exhaled the technique in a rush, sprinting after the highly compressed ball of air as soon as it was out.Kankurō’s puppet dodged predictably, carrying the bundle right into the path of the next attack. _Fūton: Air Bullets._ That one he had derived from remembering the fight with Shukaku.A scattering of tiny dense orbs intercepted his opponent midair, the chakra-laced air blasting small holes in the puppet’s defenses and battering its charge at the same time.Naruto heard a curse, and then temporarily lost sight of the other boy in a cloud of white smoke bursting from the puppet’s mouth.An instant later a purplish cloud rose up around him. _Poison._ He tried to dash out before getting completely enveloped, holding his breath all the while.

**_You’re letting him dictate the pace_** , Kurama mused with a yawn. ** _That’s not very much like you, is it?_**

_Shut up,_ Naruto growled, releasing a burst of chakra around himself to deflect a barrage of senbon. _I’ve never fought him before, and I don’t want to be too reckless._

**_Is that why you charged him head on at the beginning?_ **

_I think I remember saying something about shutting up._ The Fox just gave a dry chuckle.

Naruto found himself suspended the instant he broke out of the acrid mist, his feet having very suddenly lost contact with the ground.He hardly even had time to focus on that problem, forced to jolt into a backbend to avoid a large spike launched from the puppet’s mouth.It had positioned itself exactly where he had been moving.

“Sanshōuo: Coffin.”Naruto’s feet slammed into something hard, and it was moving upward so fast that his legs buckled with the collision.He grunted as his back slammed into hard wooden slats, and the world went dark with a sinister _clack._

**_The inside of a puppet is probably not the best place to stay._** Naruto ignored the quip, instead concentrating on amassing more chakra.He hadn’t expected to use so much, but then that was part of being prepared for anything.A bit of reading on puppeteers before the exam had helped some, but the difficulty was in every user customizing his or her own puppets.No two were alike, making it an unpredictable art.

Naruto let out an explosion of chakra, intending to blast the puppet apart, but to his surprise – and frustration – almost nothing happened.The sidings only rattled and groaned before beginning to press in, pinning both arms and attempting to crush him.He didn’t think that a marionette could be this durable.

_Damnit!He must have reinforced it somehow, and I can’t even use hand seals now!_ A gasp escaped him as the pressure popped his left shoulder out of its socket.He grit his teeth.Using secret techniques on the first match had been something he had wanted to avoid, but not taking this seriously would mean the end of him.Kankurō was pushing the tempo of this fight hard, and it was high time that Naruto took it back over.There was still one seal he could form.He vanished.

“Rasengan!”Kankurō’s puppet didn’t break apart on its own this time.Naruto had appeared in front of it with the technique already forming, the rotating mass of chakra ripping through halfway before he let it unravel in a violent explosion.Splinters rained down alongside an arsenal of kunai and senbon, all clattering to the ground in a wide circle around them.The surprise attack may have taken out one puppet, but the one he had just escaped was already whirling to charge.He ignored it, instead, sinking a fist of shuriken into the falling cloth bundle, adding two kunai for good measure. _That should—_

Bandages ripped and scattered as _another_ puppet tore out of its bindings, spinning out poison-tipped senbon in an indiscriminate arc.Naruto flipped backwards to dodge, narrowly avoiding a large scythe blade that swept out of the thing’s wooden torso.He twisted mid-flip in order to not land in the waiting Sanshōuo, summoning a clone to toss back towards the newest puppet.Either Kankurō was inside of this one, or somehow hiding in plain sight.

_I wish I could see the chakra threads clearly,_ he lamented, landing and scanning quickly around to see if any were visible. _I think I saw them during the fight with Shukaku, but he must have gotten better at suppression._ His clone was dispersed by a spike fired from one of the puppet’s many elbow joints, bringing an end to the very brief respite and opportunity to think. _Man, screw it._

“Fūin: Gravity Well!”He waited for the clattering puppet to get in range before slamming a hand to the ground, branching jutsu-shiki out in a circle fifteen meters across.The space immediately around Naruto remained unchanged, but the rest of the seal shimmered and transformed the ground into a deep, deep indigo.The oncoming puppet plummeted, crashing into the arena floor and sticking there as if flattened by an unseen force.Naruto heard the wooden salamander behind him fall as well, its joints crunching under the newfound weight of its body.“Alright,” he panted, feeling the effects of using the Hiraishin and this jutsu back-to-back.“You can either come out now, or I can turn your puppets into pulp.”

“You got me.”Kankurō’s fist punched through the ground just barely outside of Naruto’s technique, the rest of him emerging to stand and brush the dirt and dust off.He looked completely spent, and more than a little disgruntled.“I spent most of my chakra trying to outpace and trap you, and I barely made a dent.I give up.”He twitched each wrist once, eyeing his fallen puppets.They didn’t budge.

“Kankurō concedes the match.Uzumaki Naruto is the victor,” Genma announced.The crowd cheered politely enough, but it was clearly not the same amount of enthusiasm given for Shikamaru’s fight.Naruto tried not to notice that his own village would rather praise a genin from the Stone than him.A few scenes from the last exam’s carnage flashed through his mind, serving as a reminder that there was a good reason for the citizens’ apprehension – even if it was unfairly directed at him.

“I don’t get how you escaped Sanshōuo and destroyed Karasu,” Kankurō went on, taking a pair of scrolls from behind his back.“But I know you wouldn’t tell me if I asked.This bit of fūinjutsu was annoying as hell, though.”Naruto allowed the jutsu to fall, giving room for the older boy to approach the puppets.

“I shouldn’t have underestimated you,” Naruto said, laughing.“I wasn’t expecting you to be controlling three puppets at once, and with such crazy coordination.That was incredible.”Kankurō shrugged, but a small smirk gave away his appreciation of the compliment.The Suna-nin unraveled each scroll in turn, turning one at a time towards the fallen puppets and sealing them inside.He gave a casual wave after holstering the scrolls, already strolling off towards the side exit.

“I really hope that’s all you learned this week,” Sasuke muttered as Naruto retook his place on the railing.“Seriously?Space-time fūinjutsu?I didn’t think that was possible.”A few of the foreign genin were giving him appraising looks – including Kinōda.Gaara only nodded once, while Temari looked like she had just seen him grow an extra limb.The reactions from his peers varied from Ino’s nod – she knew firsthand what he was capable of – to Sakura’s disbelief.

“Yeah, well, now you can probably use it too,” Naruto replied a bit sourly.That had been the main reason he had wanted to avoid showing off new abilities. Sasuke’s Sharingan was annoying.

“Are you alright?” Hinata asked, and he knew the tone she used all too well.She wasn’t asking after his physical state or chakra reserves.

“Yeah . . . I’m just trying not to think about it.”They all knew that he was referencing the onlookers’ reactions to his victory.She frowned very slightly and took his hand, turning back towards the arena.He smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze; she knew that he didn’t like talking about it, and was trying to be supportive in her own way.

“The third match is between Gaara of the Hidden Sand and Uchiha Sasuke.”The crowd reacted interestingly to this announcement, almost in the same manner they had for Naruto.It was a balance between politeness, silence, and hissing, though it was likely that these were entirely for Gaara rather than Sasuke.It was easy to forget that the quiet Suna-nin was also a jinchūriki – although a pacified one – and had also contributed to Konoha’s destruction.

“Good luck,” Naruto said to both of them.He wanted Sasuke to win, of course, but Gaara was their friend now too.They exchanged fist-bumps, and the pair sauntered off down the hall together, talking softly all the while.

“Bit of a change from last time,” Sakura mused, taking Sasuke’s place beside Hinata.“Everyone was excited to watch Sasuke-kun fight before, and now they’re just watching Gaara-san like he could turn into a bijū any second.”

“That’s how people are,” Temari sighed.“To be fair, even Kankurō and I were afraid of him for years.Can’t really blame your village for seeing a monster pop out of Gaara and now being afraid of him, seal notwithstanding.Hell, he still terrifies most everyone in Suna.”

“Yeah . . . Can’t really blame them.”That was all Naruto could say.He felt the pressure of Hinata’s hand increase, but right then it couldn’t bring about the warmth that it usually did.It wasn’t because she couldn’t understand what it felt like; he knew that her empathy knew no bounds, and that being with him for so long had provided personal experience to how others treated him.That wasn’t even considering that she had been an outcast of her own clan at one time.No, Hinata understood, but right then it wasn’t sympathy he needed.In truth, he didn’t know what he _did_ need.Proving to the villagers that he wasn’t a threat would be a great start, though asking for their trust might be pushing his luck.At least before they had hated him for no real reason, which was something that could be dismissed as ignorance.Now, though . . . When it came down to it, the choice had been his to let Kurama out.It had saved his own life and probably many others, but at the cost of the citizens having to relive horrible memories and getting a few more tacked on in the process.

“Naruto,” Hinata said softly, touching his arm.He blinked; her voice indicated that this hadn’t been the first attempt to get his attention.“Sasuke’s match is starting . . .” Those opalescent eyes were sad, though her lips were trying to maintain an encouraging smile.Naruto gave himself a little mental kick.It was impossible for anyone to stay positive all the time, but he could at least try not to be so down about something outside of his control.For her sake.

“Has Gaara had much time to train since last time?” he asked Temari, looking for an easy change of subject.“Sasuke won pretty easily before – well, he would have if not for the stuff that happened after, and I know he's been training like crazy ever since.”

“You know,” Temari mused, keeping her eyes on the two boys approaching the center of the ring, “Gaara never trained before that day.He'd never needed to learn taijutsu because the sand had always been more effective than a fist could be, and most ninjutsu was worthless for the same reason.But recently . . . Well, I guess you'll see soon enough.”She smirked, and so did Naruto.

“I guess so.I'm sure they're both happy to have an uninterrupted rematch, huh?”He cupped both hands in front of his mouth and yelled.“Go Sasuke!”The older girl's look in response made him grin.“What?We might be on good terms now, but he's still my teammate.”

“You'd be cheering for Sasuke even if you were against him in the third round,” Hinata commented with a more genuine smile.

“ _When_ I'm against him,” Naruto corrected with a wink.“And probably, yeah.”He didn't really care of Kinōda could hear him.Hinata seemed relieved that he was back to his usual self, and that was enough for now.He turned back to give the upcoming match his full attention, hoping that Sasuke would be forced into showing off a new move or two like he had been.It was a competition, after all, even if a friendly one.

* * *

Sasuke massaged his wrist, conscious of the tender skin there.  Kakashi's training had been particularly brutal this time around, but it had been worth it.  A few burns from concentrating too much chakra were small prices to pay for mastering the Raikiri.  That had hardly been a challenge, in fact, compared to the other things he had sought to learn while under Kakashi's one-on-one tutelage.

“Fight to the best of your abilities,” Gaara said quietly, though his voice carried thanks to whatever jutsu Genma had used.“I would like to see how much I have been able to grow in this short time.”

“I will if you will,” Sasuke replied with a smirk, raising a hand to form the seal of confrontation.Gaara mimicked the gesture, and they bowed to one another as a show of mutual respect.The reason for such a formality was twofold: he wanted to show the other boy that there was no bad blood between them, and he wanted to set something of an example for the onlookers as well.Gaara wasn't a threat to Konoha any longer.He was an ally now, and with little enough time would become a friend.Genma nodded approvingly, and then raised a hand.

“Begin!”

Gaara's hands came together so fast that Sasuke had trouble keeping track, and his Sharingan was definitely still active. _Boar, monkey, rat, monkey, horse, dog, ram, horse.Clap._ Eight seals and the final motion passed by in the time it took Sasuke to leap backwards.He was all too aware of the huge amounts of chakra being amassed and sent into the ground, flowing away from Gaara along with what must have been all of the sand in that gourd.The whole arena floor shifted, prompting Genma to alight on a wall in order to not sink into what was rapidly being turned to sand.

_Sometimes I forget that he's a jinchūriki too._ Watching that much chakra getting funneled into a technique reminded him of Naruto. _Katon: Great Dragon Fire._ He breathed down towards where he would be landing, using the fire to superheat the sand and turn a wide area molten. _Suiton: Water Blast._ The subsequent ability cooled the glowing mass rapidly, creating a thick layer of hardened glass over a dozen meters across and fabricating a huge plume of steam at the same time.It served a secondary purpose in obscuring his movements upon landing, which would definitely be necessary.The sand was already flowing in around him. _Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu._

Sasuke shot out of the fog like a cannonball, hitting the stadium wall in a roll and coming up sprinting.His three clones took separate directions, each already drawing out a pair of fūma shuriken and letting them fly towards Gaara, who was still standing in the same place with both eyes closed.Four eyeballs made of sand were floating over the boy’s head, each watching a different direction.Waves of sand rose up to intercept the projectiles, burying them as other tendrils raced after Sasuke and the bunshin.

_Let’s see just how much like real eyes those are_.He slid to a halt and fixed his gaze on one of the them, each clone doing the same on a different side. _May as well start with something simple._ More sand was rising up already, so he only had an instant to test it.He used the Sharingan’s innate genjutsu, focusing it on the eye that Gaara must be using to see with.All at once the sand froze in its tracks, then began collapsing in heaps.The four eyes fell to the ground and broke apart, followed closely by Gaara himself.Sasuke raised an eyebrow.He had felt the jutsu take effect, but it couldn’t have been that simple.

He dismissed the water clones and landed warily on the loose sand, eyeing his opponent’s prone form.Genma appeared a tad perplexed as well, touching down near Gaara to examine him.Sasuke remained tensed and alert, but that awareness wasn’t enough to prepare him for what came next.

“Fūton: Downdraft.”An instantaneous gale ground Sasuke’s feet into the sand, the intense air pressure feeling like something huge had grasped his shoulders and was trying to force him down.At the same time the sand began to swirl, creating a whirlpool that sought to quickly swallow him.Well, he hadn’t fully expected to avoid using chakra-intensive abilities against Gaara.

“Suiton: Water Wall!”It was a tremendous struggle to get his hands together to form the proper seals, but it was the quickest thing he could perform to counter this combination attack.He expelled the water from his mouth, very conscious of how little he could create without a legitimate water source.It would have to be enough.

He sank into the now quicksand, continuing to pump chakra into the jutsu until it became very apparent that his limit was much higher than previously thought.Water saturated the sand spiraling around him and proceeded to leech outward, weighing down the fine grains as intended.He cut off the technique when the sludge reached his shoulders, taking a deep breath before diving in.A minor earth technique left the water directly around him clear, sifting the grime away so that he could swim towards Gaara’s chakra signature.He couldn’t sense people nearly as well as Hinata, nor as accurately, but decently enough to manage in this case.

Patches of murky light broke through the surface of the freshly-made marsh, but mostly Sasuke swam through darkness, keeping one hand outstretched and using his legs to propel forward at a good clip.It was unlikely that anyone above could see him, meaning that any more eyes that Gaara had at his disposal would be unable to relay any useful information.He had no idea what had happened with the genjutsu, but it was pretty clear that it had been countered somehow.It would have just been nice if he had felt the illusion become disrupted, but as far as could be told Gaara had still been under its affects when the sand had tried to swallow him.

_Damn it.This again?_ He had arrived at where Gaara was supposed to be only to find a smooth sphere of hardened sand, completely submerged and suspended in the thick sludge.Sasuke was running out of breath, and surfacing without regaining control of the terrain would be asking for trouble.He used the same earth jutsu to clear the water surrounding the shield, and instantly had to start moving again.Pellets of sand began zipping by from above, raining down like hail now that his position had been revealed.He had to work fast. _Suiton: Cyclone._

The crowd's roaring approval was the first thing Sasuke heard upon breaching the surface – or rather, when the water in the immediate vicinity flew outward and began to rotate in a violent circle.His feet squelched upon hitting the saturated ground, and he watched as Gaara's barrier became caught up in the torrent of water and sand.The jutsu lifted it like a pebble, adding to the debris getting caught in the artificial storm.A wind picked up as a natural result of the front, whipping Sasuke's hair around even in the relative calm of the eye.He winced, though more due to annoyance than fatigue.It had felt necessary at the time, but calling up this much water from nowhere had used a huge chunk of chakra, and now it took even more to get it moving.It would be best to finish this with one last combo.

“Suiton: Water Dragon!”The water churned and broke away, elongating into a giant serpent which had Gaara’s prison grasped firmly in its jaws.Sasuke guided it with his Sharingan, allowing it to grow until most of the water had been siphoned out to leave a wide ring of mud along the edges of the arena.He directed the jutsu towards a nearby wall, accelerating it as much as possible.Dust and rubble exploded outward when the ball of sand slammed into solid stone, sending cracks spiderwebbing several meters around the small crater.Fractures had appeared in Gaara’s defense, enough to allow some of the water still cascading over it to seep in.That would do.

“Raikiri!”Sasuke concentrated chakra into his hand, converting it to crackling lightning at the same time.Arcs split off erratically, carving paths of glowing red into the sodden earth.He drew out a kunai with his other hand and threw it hard, not wanting to waste any time holding this technique.The electrical energy jumped hungrily to the wire he had attached, racing along until it consumed the projectile in blinding white light.The dragon’s tail was just cascading over Gaara’s prison when the knife hit, lodging itself in one of the fissures.That entire side of the arena lit up like an actual lightning strike, impossible to look straight at without being blinded.He pumped chakra into the ability for a few seconds, cutting it off just before it might be lethal.There was no reason to use deadly force, but he wasn’t going to take any chances on this not working.Chakra didn’t exactly grow on trees.

The light vanished when he released the wire, the Raikiri dying down a beat later.He blinked the white spots from his eyes, focusing on Gaara’s crumbling defenses.The boy himself was now visible inside, leaning heavily against one intact wall and breathing hard.Blackened sand was falling in chunks from his face and hands, revealing that he himself was largely uninjured, although quite spent from keeping up a constant guard against Sasuke’s onslaught.

“Wasn’t expecting you to turn the whole damn arena into sand,” Sasuke breathed, shaking his head and lowering into a balanced fighting stance.Gaara pushed away from his support, stumbling once before regaining his balance and stepping out of the mangled shell.

“I was not expecting you to counter it so effectively.”Gaara stopped half a dozen paces away, glancing down and frowning.A bit the dense muck shifted and rose up, but it was far too sluggish to be useful to him.He allowed it to fall, dropping into an unfamiliar taijutsu stance.The gourd on his back broke apart and granulated, and now it was Sasuke’s turn to frown.So much for getting rid of all the dry sand.

Gaara remained completely still, but the sand raced forward to engage for him.Sasuke was plenty fast enough to outpace it, though, and it didn’t take a genius to realize that this was Gaara’s last resort.He dodged the attacks easily enough, pushing chakra into his legs in order to speed past and attack the other boy directly, which turned out to be much more difficult than he cared to admit.

Taijutsu had never seemed like Gaara’s forte, and it probably still wasn’t, but it was still pretty hard to land a clean hit.He didn’t even attempt a counterattack, instead just barely dodging or deflecting Sasuke’s strikes at the last possible second.Meanwhile the sand kept up its barrage, making it difficult to even attempt a direct blow.It was a clever way to fight against the Sharingan, using the sand whose movements couldn’t be easily predicted while focusing his own energy on avoidance.Not even twitching until it was almost too late meant that Sasuke had no window to anticipate movements.But there were ways to deal with this, too.

“Fūton: Downdraft,” Sasuke muttered, using Gaara’s own jutsu to pummel the offending sand into the ground, adding it to the useless mass below.That allowed him to focus everything into the melee, which meant that this match was over.It didn’t matter if he couldn’t track the other boy’s movements now; he had years of taijutsu training in his favor – with Naruto and Hinata, no less.A straight kick feint turned into a spinning hook, which transitioned smoothly into a leaping roundhouse that crushed Gaara’s defense and sent him spinning.He landed with an audible _squelch_ , back hitting the soggy ground and sinking in several centimeters.

“I should be more careful when using jutsu around you,” he sighed, not attempting to move.“I am defeated.The victory is yours, Uchiha.”The awed spectators erupted then, supplying the most enthusiastic cheers of the day so far.Sasuke smirked and extended a hand.

“You almost had me a few times.Blame Kakashi-sensei for inadvertently teaching me so many water techniques.”Gaara smiled his ghost of a smile, dragging an arm free of the mud and grasping the offered hand.Sasuke pulled him upright, leaving a clear impression behind in the wet silt.“I’m just glad we finally got to finish our fight.”

“As am I.I wish you the best in your remaining matches.”Gaara inclined his head, then began slogging towards the exit, which was difficult to see through the layer of filth.Sasuke took in the rest of the stadium, realizing that the fight had basically ruined the field and walls alike.Hopefully they would be able to fix it.

“Uchiha Sasuke is the victor,” Genma called to another wave of applause.“Please be patient as we repair the arena in preparation for the next match.”Chūnin were already emerging from the door Gaara had disappeared through, spreading out to begin separating out the water and recompacting the floor.More still were scraping the walls clean and repairing the huge dent.Oh well – Genma had said that anything was allowed.

“Way to wreck the place,” Naruto greeted as soon as he made it back up.Sasuke shrugged and shared a high-five with his teammate, exchanging a smile with Hinata.“I guess you figured out more than just the basic Raikiri, huh?”

“It’s just a stronger Chidori, so it wasn’t hard to figure out how to use it in the same way.Uses a lot more chakra, though.”

“How did he escape your genjutsu?” Hinata asked.Naruto raised an eyebrow as if to ask the same question, and Sasuke could only shrug.

“Not sure.My best guess is that he had a clone form those eyes and just relay the information somehow.I think the Gaara that collapsed was the clone, and the real one had burrowed while I was occupied with the sand.”

“He did make a few seals while you were running on the wall, but I couldn’t tell what they were from up here,” Naruto supplied.“Maybe he made a sand clone underground and swapped with it?It must have been really smooth if that was it.Still,” he continued, lightly punching Sasuke’s arm, “You still won, though I bet you had to use more chakra than you wanted to.”

“How the hell did you use those water techniques without any water around?” Temari asked, prompting his shrug.“I get minor jutsu, but you could have filled a small lake with that much.”

“More like a pond,” Sasuke replied.“And I couldn’t tell you.Kakashi-sensei did it once while we were training, but he used the river we were near.With enough practice, I was just able to cough up enough for the Water Dragon.I’ve read that Senju Tobirama could make an ocean out of a desert, so this is really nothing in comparison.”She looked as if there were more questions on her mind, but Genma was already speaking up to announce the next match.They had repaired everything with surprising alacrity.

“The fourth match is between Hyūga Neji and Chiyūda of the Hidden Stone.”Both boys pushed off of the wall where they had been reclining, silently exiting the area to answer the call.If this Iwa-nin was half as strong as his teammate, it could be an interesting fight.Sasuke let his Sharingan fade, though, wanting to maximize his chakra regeneration.Even if it was hardly an effort to keep it active, doing so meant that he would be less prepared for his next match.

“This will be decided quickly,” Lee asserted, his face falling an instant later.Sasuke smirked; that meant the match with Sakura would come that much sooner.It would be fun to watch, even if everyone knew the result already.He wasn’t about to say that out loud, though.

The pair of genin made their way to the center of the mostly mended arena, halting beside Genma and taking up their positions.Neither spoke, which was something the jōnin seemed perfectly fine with.

“Begin!”

Neji casually raised his hands to go through a short series of seals while his opponent charged.Chiyūda went rigid a few meters away, balanced precariously on one foot with eyes bulging.His features twisted into a horrified expression for several seconds, and then his eyes rolled back.He collapsed.Sasuke blinked.Neji sighed, and looked to Genma.

“Ah . . .” the proctor began, scratching his head and kneeling beside the incapacitated boy.He glanced around as if expecting the real one to pop up out of the ground – that was becoming a common theme, after all – but nothing happened.“Chiyūda is unable to continue the fight.Hyūga Neji is the victor.”There was more laughter than actual applause in the stands at that.Neji turned and sauntered back up to join the others, returning to the same spot from which he had departed.

“That was thrilling, Neji,” Sasuke commented, to which the older genin shrugged.

“Genjutsu was the simplest and least taxing method to succeed.His taijutsu and ninjutsu were also underdeveloped from what I observed during the previous round, so I could have won nearly as easily in a direct confrontation.”

“Are you mocking my teammate?” Kinōda asked, and suddenly the enclave became tense.The pressure of his killing intent was less surprising than the fact that he was projecting it in the first place.Neji met his narrowed eyes, unperturbed.

“Only stating facts.He was weak in too many areas, and I expect only made it this far because you are his teammate.”

“Be sure to win your next match,” Kinōda replied curtly, turning his attention back to the ring.“I would very much like to crush you in the third round.”

“Hey, I’m still here y’know,” Naruto said flatly.Kinōda raised an eyebrow as if to ask, ‘And?’“Whatever.I’ll be glad to take you down a few pegs soon enough.”The Iwa-nin ignored him.

“The fifth match is between Haruno Sakura and Rock Lee.”

“It’s about time!” Sakura pressed a fist into the opposite palm, cracking her knuckles loudly.“You ready for this, Lee-senpai?”He let out a sound that was probably intended as an affirmative, but it resembled a whimper more than anything else.Sakura only laughed, whirling to make her way confidently towards the tunnel.

“Have fun,” was all Sasuke said.Lee sighed and dragged his feet, mumbling under his breath the whole way out.“He’s still really distressed about this, isn’t it?”

“He’s had a crush on Sakura-san for some time now,” Tenten said, shaking her head.“It’s a bit ridiculous, really, but fighting her is about the last thing he wants to do.But she said that he can’t go easy, so . . .”

“Poor Lee,” Hinata murmured, sounding legitimately sympathetic.Sasuke only snorted.This was the Chūnin Promotion Exam.They had all gone in with the knowledge that they would be fighting friends sooner or later.Hell, he had known from the beginning that it would be two of the three in Team Seven in the final round, and that the third would have to be defeated by one of the others.The difference there was that each of them was looking forward to fighting one another seriously.

“I have a feeling that Lee is going to be unpleasantly surprised soon enough.”Everyone looked at Sasuke at that comment.He kept watching Sakura and Lee as he continued, smirking very slightly.“I’d put ten thousand ryō on Sakura starting with genjutsu, and getting at least one clean hit in before the end.”

“Sasuke,” Hinata chided, giving him a particularly severe look.Well, severe for Hinata, anyway.“You shouldn’t be putting wagers on your friends.”

“I’ll take that bet,” Tenten said with a wide grin.“Make it fifty thousand on Sakura _not_ landing a single hit.Lee’s way too fast.”She winked at Hinata, who had turned to her in surprise.“It’s just a friendly bet, silly.I’d honestly love it if she ended up clocking him, though I just hope that wouldn’t break his neck.”

“Done,” Sasuke smirked, offering a hand for Tenten to shake.She did so enthusiastically, laughing all the while.

“Winner has to treat everyone to dinner – no take-backs!”

“Calm down, Tenten,” Neji cut in, nodding out over the railing.“They’re starting.”

“Give me your best shot,” Sakura started, planting her feet and pointing accusingly at him.“If I think you’re holding back for even an instant I’ll pound you into the ground.”

“But—!”

“Begin!” Genma called.

“Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!”A second Sakura popped into being, expelled from her mouth in the same manner that Sasuke had created his own.He nodded approvingly; she had asked him to teach her that one, and had executed it perfectly.The clone leapt forward to engage Lee while she brought her hands together in a ram seal, amassing chakra.Lee looked like he was about to be sick, striking the bunshin as if the action hurt him.Instead of dispersing into water, though, it exploded into a fine mist all around him.“Magen: Self-Reflection!”

“Lee . . .” Tenten smacked her palm into her forehead and groaned.“He’s not focusing at all; he fell right into that!It was pretty clever, though,” she admitted after a second.Lee had begun flailing around within the mist, looking as if he was fighting an imaginary opponent.Sasuke knew that he was, in fact, doing exactly that.Sakura’s technique caused the victim to encounter an illusory version of themselves, losing track of reality and ultimately succumbing to fatigue.

“Third Gate: Seimon . . . Release!”The vapor dissipated in a rush, blasted away by the immense amount of chakra cascading from Lee.His skin had turned a reddish hue, his eyes had gone white, and he was now turning in a circle as if confused.

“Don’t tell me . . . He did that on accident, didn’t he?” Sasuke muttered along with a curse.“Opening gates definitely disrupts your normal chakra flow, but I think he only did it to fight his illusion.”

“Probably so,” Tenten admitted, though she seemed relieved.“No matter how much training we put into it, Lee still usually can’t tell if he’s under a genjutsu.”

“I guess you got serious like I asked,” Sakura grinned, already drawing in a breath.She expelled more water from her mouth, spinning in a quick circle and saturating the ground in a wide radius, though not nearly to the level that Sasuke had.The ground rose up and wrapped around her legs below the knee, encasing them in solid stone.“Come!”Lee balked at her fierce expression, but complied with only the briefest hesitation.

Lee was impressively fast, but it quickly became apparent that he was fighting against Sakura’s brain rather than her brawn.His initial blinding charge was noticeably slowed by the mud, enough to allow her to dodge in the most ingenious way.Her feet slid across the ground, the earth itself doing the work and being guided with her chakra.It allowed her to artificially match his speed by slowing him down and amplifying her own movements.Even still the melee was a veritable blur to watch, the pair whirling in frantic clashes that sent mud splattering in every direction.Sakura spewed more water every time Lee tried to push her out of the area, eventually turning most of the available space into sludge, though at a cost.

“Holy shit.”Sasuke had to call on his Sharingan again just to watch more clearly.He knew that Sakura had been training hard these last few months, but he had never expected her taijutsu to become this refined.Granted she hadn’t landed a hit yet, but neither had Lee.Their fast-paced skirmish had both of them dodging, deflecting, and striking at a remarkable speed – faster than he had expected from her, to be sure.

“That’s super cool,” Naruto laughed.“Not just that she’s keeping pace with him, but that whole . . . mud-sliding-thing.Looks like she’s getting tired, though.”Molding that much chakra into water was taxing, even when done in short bursts.On top of that, she had to keep a constant flow to her feet in order to keep moving, and that wasn’t even accounting for what was necessary to augment her taijutsu.Lee’s gates had some kind of limit defined by training with them, but he barely appeared tired at the moment.

“Is that all you’ve got?!” Sakura panted, arching back to avoid a horizontal sweep and rocketing a straight punch back as she straightened.Lee slapped the blow aside and leapt back to reset.“Come on, Lee-senpai – I know you’ve got more than this in you!”

“Gai-sensei says I shouldn’t tire myself out too quickly in the first matches . . .” It sounded like a lame excuse, and even lamer still coming from someone practically bathing in chakra.

“Is that so?” Sakura asked coolly.That voice chilled to the bone.Sasuke winced.It was enough that she _knew_ that Lee was stronger, but it only added insult to injury when he was holding back.Granted, he wasn’t holding back because of their difference in strength, but rather to reserve power for later matches.She likely didn’t see the difference as important.“In that case . . .”

It all happened in a flash – almost faster than Sasuke could track.Sakura gathered an enormous amount of chakra and forced it into her earthen boots, rocketing her forward so fast that she seemed to vanish for a split second.In the same instant she amassed even more chakra, funneling it into her fists and concentrating it into the tiniest points.Sasuke wasn’t sure if Hinata could even pack that much into a single place.Lee looked too shocked to react properly, only able to attempt a guard.Sakura’s left fist swept vertical in an uppercut, demolishing what had been a solid block and throwing Lee’s arms away.

“Shannarō!”Lee might as well have disappeared from existence for the split second after Sakura’s fist struck his jaw.One instant he was in front of her, and the next he hit the arena wall.The stone buckled and exploded outward, obscuring half the stadium in dust and raining chunks of stone.A wide fissure opened up above the point of impact, climbing nearly to the spectators’ seats.Sasuke had to hold on to the railing to steady himself from the violent shaking.It felt like an earthquake.The crowd went completely silent, likely as awestruck as he felt.When the debris began to clear away, Sakura was still standing where she had completed her maneuver, breath coming out ragged but wearing the widest and most satisfied grin.“Take . . . that!”

“Holy.Shit.”This time it was Tenten’s turn to utter those words, and Sasuke could only nod.He could definitely see Sakura destroying an entire plateau now.Naruto got over his initial shock first, bursting out into fit of laughter just as the onlookers began roaring in approval.

“Do you think Lee-san is alright?” Hinata asked worriedly, eyes on the massive crater that he had disappeared into.

“That was . . . definitely a hit,” Neji started slowly, shaking his head as if to clear it.“But Gai-sensei doesn’t go easy on him during training.He’s bounced back up after felling half a forest, and I expect the same here.”

While not quite bouncing, Lee did appear after a few more seconds, half-stumbling out of the hole his flight had created.The entire left side of his face was an angry purple, already swelling around the eye.His jaw was slack and hanging to one side, clearly dislocated.Blood dripped steadily from one nostril; his nose was probably broken, too.He also looked different in a less concerning way.

“He released the fourth gate,” Sasuke whistled.“I guess just before the blow.”

“Probably the only reason he’s still conscious,” Tenten sighed, looking upset.“I told him not to underestimate her, and now he’s gotten himself banged up.Gai-sensei’s advice was to only use what was necessary to win safely.If he had just started with four, then this would have already been over.”

“Well, looks like it’s over anyway,” Sasuke pointed out, nodding at Sakura.The stone around her feet had crumbled away, and she was slumped on one knee.He had watched the amount of chakra she had used to get that attack off, and it had almost been everything that had remained.In fact, it had been a bit too much.Her eyes became unfocused, and a moment later she fell forward, unconscious.“Chakra exhaustion.”

“Haruno Sakura is unable to continue.Rock Lee is the victor.”The cheering had faltered when Sakura had collapsed, but picked back up to supportive cries and congratulations for a great match.Lee rushed forward to see if she was okay, dropping the gates on the way.Three medical-nin rushed over and shooed him away, two of them getting her on a stretcher and carrying her away while the third began healing.Lee stood and watched until they disappeared through the side door, hanging his head and slowly making his way back up.Chūnin were already out and fixing things up – again.

“Lee . . . I don’t think I need to tell you how dumb that was, do I?” Tenten asked as soon as he returned.He shook his head dejectedly.She sighed.“Hey, don’t beat yourself up over it.I think Sakura-chan is pretty happy with how that went; she was smiling there at the end.”Lee looked up, a bit of hope in his shimmering eyes.

“Wreery?”He looked so pathetic that Sasuke had to hide his chuckle with a cough.

“Yeah, really.Now clean yourself up and take this before your face turns into a balloon,” she instructed, forcing a large food pill into his hand.He nodded, using one hand to pop his jaw back into place before taking it, chewing twice and swallowing with a face that indicated it was not the best tasting thing in the world.“Good.The swelling should go down in a few minutes.You might even look almost normal by your next fight.”

“Thank you, Tenten . . .”

“The sixth match is between Aki of the Hidden Grass and Temari of the Hidden Sand.”The two kunoichi straightened, glancing at one another once before making their way out.Neither said a word nor betrayed the slightest flicker of emotion.It was like watching statues march off to battle.

“At least one from Suna will make it to the quarter finals,” Ino said after they had gone out of sight.“I don’t think that girl is a match for Temari-san.”

“Did you run into her during the exam?” Naruto asked.Ino nodded.

“Me and Shikamaru took out the rest of her team.They weren’t much to write home about, though she’s probably the strongest of the three.Pretty fast, but only used ranged weapons and lightning techniques.”

“Temari-san’s fan and her affinity for wind make for natural counters, then,” Hinata mused.“That’s . . . unfortunate.”

The fight turned out to be exactly that: unfortunate.Aki created distance between them as soon as Genma signaled the start, beginning to launch attack after attack consisting primarily of kunai, shuriken, and lightning jutsu.Many of them resembled the way Sasuke liked to fight, but Temari had also fought against Sasuke once, and she wasn’t about to make the same mistakes twice.No projectile even got close to hitting, all buffeted away by casual techniques from her giant war fan.Each bolt or ball of lightning was cancelled out in the same way.The Kusa-nin never had a chance.

The fight ended when Temari became bored, it seemed.She summoned two literal tornadoes in a flash and sent them driving at her opponent, and despite the other girl’s best efforts she was caught up and tossed around like a ragdoll.The wind was sharpened, too, and before long Aki’s bloodied form hit the ground hard, shuddered once, and then became still.Genma called the match.

“Aki of the Hidden Grass is unable to continue.Temari of the Hidden Sand is the victor.”

“They’re just shallow wounds,” Temari said as the medics rushed out.“Looks worse than it is, I promise.”She folded her fan and retied it onto her back before returning to the waiting area, leaning nonchalantly on the railing once again.“That was bad luck for her,” she said after a moment, voice no longer amplified.She sounded annoyed.“I don’t think I was necessarily stronger than her as much as my abilities directly oppose hers.”

“We don’t always get to choose who we fight,” Sasuke pointed out.“As shinobi we’re expected to deal with unexpected situations with the tools we have to work with; it’s one of the most important things they look at for chūnin promotion.Sakura knew that she was outmatched by Lee, for example, but that didn’t stop her from nearly taking the fight by playing to her strengths.”

“Are you lecturing me, or just trying to fit in a compliment for your girlfriend?” she asked wryly, a sly smile giving away the jest.Sasuke shrugged, turning his attention to the arena again.That was the last time he was going to be positive.

“The seventh match is between Tenten and Yamanaka Ino.”

“Sweet!Ready to rock, Ino?”Tenten grabbed the other girl’s arm and leapt over the railing before receiving a clear answer.Ino squawked a protest that sounded like it could have been ‘Tenten-senpai!’, but it was difficult to tell.

“Hey, the fight hasn’t started yet!” Naruto called after them, laughing.Hinata was giggling as well, and even Neji had a smirk on his face.At least they were having fun with it.Sasuke said nothing; there was only one way this match could really go.Ino might have improved by leaps and bounds since the previous set of exams, but her specialty didn’t lie in combat.Her skillset made her ideal for espionage, tracking, interrogations, and maybe medical ninjutsu if she trained for it.Her taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu were all average at best, though one could argue that her kenjutsu had become fairly exceptional.Even then she was against Tenten, who was worlds better with all types of weapons than anyone else he knew.

“Begin!”

“Well, you already know how I’m going to fight,” Ino sighed, taking a scroll from her belt pouch and dropping it.The paper unraveled, and the sword that Naruto had described popped out and into her hand.“Bring it.”

“With pleasure,” Tenten chimed, already flinging two scrolls in wide arcs, creating a nearly perfect circle around Ino.“Sōgu: Shuriken Storm!”The technique was aptly named.Sasuke counted at least ten different types of shuriken whirring out of the scrolls towards Ino, ranging from the largest arm-length weapons and fūma shuriken to tiny eight-pointed stars.

“Suiton: Solid Globe!”Water was leaving Ino’s mouth before Tenten’s scrolls had completely surrounded her, flowing around her in a flash and forming a smooth bubble of liquid.It didn’t look like it would be very effective against the projectiles at first, but the first handful swiftly proved that assumption wrong.Each one sunk in just barely, lodging in the defensive shell as if it were thick clay.By the time Tenten’s technique expended itself, Ino was surrounded by a circle of metal.The barrier had held.

Tenten dropped to the ground a fraction of a second before a horizontal slash of chakra might have taken her head off.Weapons clattered to the ground in a ring around Ino as the water lost form, the result of her cutting straight through it with the sword.Rather, she had infused the weapon with her chakra and turned the strike into a ranged attack as a result.The pair of scrolls fluttered to the ground, each sliced cleanly in two.

“Melee it is,” Tenten grinned, a pair of nunchaku already spinning in her hands.She dashed forward, but halfway to Ino threw the weapon to serve as a distraction.A naginata appeared whirling in one hand from another scroll, and then the real fight began.

To say that Ino was outmatched would have been a gross understatement.Tenten was not only able to masterfully wield her weapon with greater reach, but she knew every sword technique that the other girl might use.Ino’s one saving grace was using the chakra blade’s extension to decent effect, but Tenten had been the one to teach Hinata how to channel chakra into weapons in the first place.She didn’t use the ability herself, presumably to conserve energy, but made fighting against it look effortless.

A large metal spheroid shot out of a cloud of smoke near Tenten’s hip, forcing Ino to jerk left in order to avoid getting pummeled.She narrowly avoided a straight jab in the process, her full focus returning to the bout.That concentration turned out to be her downfall.The ball exploded a few paces behind her, sending small pellets scattering in every direction.Several slammed into her back, drawing out a pained gasp.She stumbled forward, footing lost – right into the butt of Tenten’s polearm.

“Ugh . . .” That was the last sound to escape Ino’s lips before she fell, caught by Tenten just before hitting the ground.

“Sorry Ino,” the older kunoichi said to her unconscious friend.“I tried to make it as gentle as possible.”

“Yamanaka Ino is unable to continue.Tenten is the victor.”

“If that was her being gentle, I’d hate to see rough,” Sasuke whistled.“That was a neat combo with that metal ball.I doubt Ino saw her hands come together for the snake seal in the middle of the fight.”

“I didn’t either – that was crazy fast, Tenten.”Naruto’s comment was directed at the girl in question, who came trotting up the tunnel at that moment.

“It was fun,” she smiled.“Always have to prepare for the unexpected!”

“The eighth match is between Uka of the Hidden Mist and Hyūga Hinata,” Genma announced.“This will be the final match of the first round, after which there will be a brief intermission before the quarterfinals.”

“Be safe,” Naruto said before anyone else could wish her good luck.They hugged, he kissed her forehead again, and she exchanged a nod and smile with Sasuke before moving off to follow Uka down.

“Worried?” he asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

“About Hinata?Yeah right,” Naruto guffawed.“She could probably beat the crap out of both of us if she went all out.I kinda feel bad for that Mist genin.”

“Yeah . . . This’ll probably be over quick.”Sasuke wasn’t so sure that Hinata could beat either of them, but he also wasn’t sure that she couldn’t.It was difficult to gauge any of their power levels relative to one another.Each of them had strengths and weaknesses, and each of them knew exactly what those were.Now that Naruto could reliably counter genjutsu, neither he nor Hinata had that particular advantage over their teammate – especially when Kurama could sense and point out any genjutsu immediately.

It turned out that they were more than correct about the fight.Uka was fast – Sasuke would give that to her, but she was no match for Hinata’s speed.The Kiri-nin tried to create distance at the very start, proving Sakura’s warning true when she produced fist after fist of shuriken in flight.Several times Sasuke saw the girl try to use one type of genjutsu or another, each instance coming up empty-handed when Hinata showed no sign of being affected.Sasuke smirked, watching her chakra circulate.She was exceptionally skilled at recognizing when an illusory technique was being used, and the instant it fell into place she would cause the smallest disruption in her own chakra flow to cancel it out.All the while her hands deflected shuriken like it was child’s play, pinpoint touches of chakra rendering each and every one useless.

“Hakke,” she said softly, simply appearing beside Uka.Sasuke blinked.She had been halfway across the arena just now, in pursuit and flashing a tiger seal between defensive maneuvers.Had that been . . . the Body Flicker technique?“Sixty-Four Palms.”Uka hit the ground after the forty-third strike, conscious but unable to move.Hinata had completely avoided all vital points in favor of tapping the tenketsu all along her adversary’s arms and legs.

“Uka of the Hidden Mist is unable to continue,” Genma said after it became obvious that the girl would not be getting up any time soon.“Hyūga Hinata is the victor.”Hinata bowed to Uka, looking apologetic, but smiled as soon as she straightened and heard Naruto’s whoop from above.

“Man is she awesome,” Naruto beamed, rubbing the back of his neck.Sasuke probably would have rolled his eyes if it were anyone else so openly admiring their girlfriend, but the only thing Naruto knew how to be was honest.

“She didn’t do anything we haven’t seen hundreds of times,” Sasuke pointed out.

“I don’t see your point.”

“Nevermind.Nice work, Hinata,” he continued when she reappeared.“Not that it was very exciting to watch.”

“I’d take efficient over exciting any day,” Tenten put in.

“Thanks you two,” Hinata beamed, giving Naruto a hug before settling back to her spot next to him.“I feel bad that I had to be her opponent . . . Genjutsu is not something most people are gifted in, and Uka-san was very skilled at using it.Without the Byakugan, it might have gone very differently.”

“It wouldn’t have,” Sasuke snorted.“Between how much training you’ve done with genjutsu and your ridiculous chakra control, it would have been no contest anyway.Having the Byakugan just made it easier, not inevitable.”

“I guess you’re right,” she replied after a moment.

“You’re just gonna have to get used to the idea that you’re super strong,” Naruto said with a wink.“Man, the next round is gonna be great!I get to fight Kinōda-san, and then Sasuke and Neji’s fight will be great I bet.”

“How early can we forfeit?” Temari asked, eyeing Lee askance.“My face is too pretty to get punched that many times.”

“I will try my best not to hit your face, Temari-san,” Lee assured.“A man must do his best to—”

“Like hell you will,” the kunoichi sniffed.“Remember what happened the last time you tried to take it easy on someone?You think I couldn’t do worse to you, green boy?”Lee wilted, looking back and forth between her and Tenten as if looking for help.

“I am so not looking forward to fighting you, Hinata-chan,” Tenten said instead of saving her teammate from his predicament.“But I also am at the same time.Is that weird?”

“I know exactly how you feel, Tenten-chan.I’m looking forward to it, too.”Hinata’s reply belied her own concern, but there was that same feeling of excitement behind the words as well.They got to talking about how their previous matches had gone, and Tenten started the Wind Whisper jutsu to discreetly begin making predictions about the upcoming duels, which Sasuke only knew by reading her lips.Apparently she was on the fence about his match with Neji.He decided not to comment.

“Got a plan for your next fight?” he asked Naruto, glancing aside at Kinōda.The older boy had retreated to a corner, and now appeared to be meditating on the stone floor.

“Yeah, for the most part.I really don’t want to have to show off more stuff, but might have to.We sure got the worst draws.”

“Tell me about it.Out of the eight in our group there was only really one pushover.I can’t copy that fūinjutsu, by the way,” he added.“I haven’t practiced making seals like you have, and that’s some serious custom jutsu-shiki.”

“Oh-ho – did I find your weakness?” Naruto teased, though he looked somewhat relieved.

“You wish.”

They bantered back and forth until Genma reappeared at the center of the ring.By then the crowd had picked up its volume in anticipation for the start of the second round.The other genin were back at the railing, ready to watch and learn from what could be a future opponent.

“The ninth match is between Waruagaki Kinōda and Uzumaki Naruto.”

“Wish me luck,” he hummed, giving Hinata’s hand a squeeze before turning towards the door.She held on, stopping him in his tracks.She gave a tug so that he twisted back to face her before going in for a rather forceful kiss that lasted several seconds.Naruto seemed taken aback for a second before accepting and returning the embrace, and raised an eyebrow once they had separated.“Not that I didn’t enjoy it, but what was that for?”

“Luck,” was all she said, and they shared a smile.

“Try not to make it too boring,” Sasuke said, extending a fist.Naruto snorted and rapped his knuckles before trotting off after Kinōda, looking about ready to take on the world.“You seem worried,” Sasuke continued to Hinata, voice pitched low so that only she could hear.She didn't respond at first, instead watching for a few seconds until Naruto emerged far below.

“Naruto isn't afraid of many things,” she began in a near whisper.“You know that.But . . . What scares him scares me, too.He's afraid of what's happening to him, and what it could mean for his future – for our future as a team.He's afraid of damaging his relationship with Kurama, too.But I think he's most afraid of hurting anyone else as a result of losing control again.I've been worried something might happen all week . . .”

“Same,” Sasuke sighed, running a hand through his hair.Hinata blinked and looked at him as if surprised.“What?I worry about things sometimes.It would suck if that happened, but Naruto's smart enough not to let it.”

“You're right . . . I need to relax a little.”She did just that, in fact, stretching for a second before visibly allowing some tension to fall away.Her arms folded beneath her breasts, and she gave a small mischievous smirk while leaning over the railing.“So, how long do you think he'll take to win?”

“Weren't you against betting on matches?”

“I'm not betting,” she said innocently, “Only guessing.”

“Uh-huh.Well, I _bet_ it'll be over in three minutes – five tops,” Sasuke proposed.She considered that for a moment, tilted her head to one side, and smiled.

“Two minutes.”

* * *

“You’re strong,” Kinōda said as soon as they stopped near the center.  Genma hadn’t used the jutsu to make their voices heard yet.  “But I can’t let you win.”

“Well I hope not,” Naruto joked, scratching behind one ear.“This is an aptitude test, and we’re supposed to fight our hardest.”

“You are unable to do that at present.”That assertion caught Naruto off guard.This guy couldn’t know that he wasn’t able to use Kurama’s chakra . . . could he?“But as I said, I cannot let that be an excuse to go easy.I need to win this tournament – for my village’s sake.”

“How do you know that I can’t?”

“You haven’t used your bijū’s chakra since the incident during the last test, and you had an audience with your kage directly after.These two facts are not coincidences.”

“You’re not actually a genin, are you?” Naruto sighed.“No way you could have been spying on me all week without Jiraiya-sensei noticing.”Kinōda didn’t reply to that, though it may have been because Genma ran through a series of seals and muttered something.It was probable that everyone could hear them now. _Well, I guess that answers that._

**_His chakra capacity is easily jōnin level, and Lee said that he used advanced fire and earth techniques during the second stage.If he isn’t a jōnin, it’s safe to say that he’s at least a high ranking chūnin._ **

_Well, I guess it’s time to find out if I’m able to beat a high ranking chūnin, then.Without your help._ That prospect wasn’t exactly comforting, but he still had his ace in the hole.If all else failed, counting on his absurd chakra pool would have to do.He watched, ready for anything as Genma’s hand lifted into the air.

“Begin!”

‘Anything’ turned out to be rock the size of a house, which was flying towards Naruto’s face before Genma’s voice stopped echoing around the amphitheater.It was followed up by an even larger fireball, which consumed the first technique and created what might as well have been a small meteor – all in the span of a few blinks.But Naruto hadn’t just been standing around blinking, either.

“Suiton: Slicing Wave!”He expelled a vertical slash of water from his mouth, sharpening its edge with chakra enough so that it would cut through the oncoming stone.He had considered tossing a kunai and using the Hiraishin to avoid it, but that would have taken more energy.“Fūton: Gale Palm!”The blast of wind followed on the water’s heels, forcing itself between the now severed pieces and causing the gap to widen rapidly.The halves hit the ground with a deafening crash, rolling to either side of Naruto even as he prepared for the inevitable.As expected, Kinōda appeared through the steamy haze at the center, blurring towards him at near untraceable speeds.

Naruto thanked his lucky stars that Hinata had been around all these years to push his reflexes to their limits, and then further beyond that even.But Kinōda had so much more than swiftness going for him.Every movement was precise, with nothing wasted between attacks and with a defense so impenetrable that he may as well have been a wall.The worst part was that he hardly dodged anything, choosing instead to use hard blocks that left Naruto’s wrists and shins stinging.His bones felt hard as metal.

_Maybe I can just outlast him._ Naruto twitched his head to the side to avoid a punch that had been little more than a streak of color.He was keeping pace, but only just, and Kinōda was doing a lot more attacking than defending.The boy showed no signs of tiring any time soon, though.

**_I think your best bet is to use brute force.Your taijutsu is great, but it falls behind without my help.Your strength lies in your own chakra pool, and as a result the powerful techniques you can use it for._ **

_Yeah, but he has a boatload of chakra too._

**_You have a good deal more chakra than Kakashi – more than double, easily.What makes you think he has that much?_ **

_Don’t forget that I used more than him during my last—_ He cut off the thought when Kinōda’s heel clipped his forehead protector, resuming only after recovering from a back handspring. _Damnit Kurama; it’s hard enough to focus without you in my head._

**_You know I’m right._ **

_Gah – fine!_ There was no way Kinōda was going to let him just back off to start using chakra-intensive abilities, so he had to get creative.Naruto snatched one of the Hiraishin kunai from his leg holster while coming up for a block, pretending to drop it in his haste to get the arm up in time.In truth, faking wasn’t entirely necessary; the millisecond delay had nearly earned him a clean elbow to the side of the head.The Iwa-nin’s eyes flashed to the falling weapon for a split second, and he kicked it instead of outright ignoring it.Naruto lurched to one side to avoid getting impaled by his own weapon, rolling into a sprint with Kinōda in hot pursuit. _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_ The single clone stopped to thwart his pursuer, aiming to buy at least a couple seconds of leeway.Kinōda hit the bunshin so hard that it vanished in a cloud of smoke instantly – through a block.

**_He hits as hard as Lee, easily,_** Kurama mused.

_Yeah, I can feel it everywhere already, thanks.Fūton: Hurricane!_ He spun while still moving, knowing that there were only a few steps between him and Kinōda.A windstorm picked up almost immediately, howling against the other genin with enough force to fell trees.

“Doton: Stone Armor!”The ground came up like it had before, fastening to each limb and weighing him down.It did significantly slow the chase, however, which gave Naruto time to throw in another new technique.This one he had developed with a little help from a fiery friend.

“Katon: Thousand Pinions!”A long exhale had flames leaping from his mouth, hundreds of tiny birds all rushing into the maelstrom of air.Some made it as far as Kinōda, peppering him with little blasts of fire, but most allowed themselves to be consumed by the hurricane winds.The chakra-laced air amplified the power of each, causing them to swell before losing shape.The end result was a firestorm so massive that Naruto had to stumble back from the intense heat, not having expected such a catastrophic effect.

**_Your ignorance at your own potential never ceases to impress,_** the Fox snorted. ** _If he isn’t dead, that attack should have at least cooked him medium well._** Naruto squinted into the roaring, whirling fire, trying to spot Kinōda’s form.He considered cancelling the jutsu when he finally found the other boy – underneath him.A pair of angry red hands burst from the ground without warning, attempting to close around his ankles.

_Shit!_ Naruto teleported on instinct, arriving at the dropped kunai some distance away in an ungraceful tumble.He really had to get used to momentum changes when using the Hiraishin.A heartbeat later and he would have been caught, though, so right then it didn’t matter.

**_Close call.That guy is tough as nails._** Kinōda was pulling himself from the ground even as Kurama spoke, struggling somewhat.Bits of his scalp were visible from where fire had scorched away his hair, and bands of blisters circled both arms and legs where the stones must have been pressing against flesh.Despite all of that he stood tall, breaths coming deep between a handful of coughs. ** _That clone might have cost you more than it was worth, by the way._**

_You think?_ he almost breathed out loud.Shadow Clones took half of a person’s available chakra to create, and while it had bought him the instant he had needed to get that last attack off, it had apparently not been effective enough.Reducing his chakra by half wasn’t usually a big deal; it replenished pretty fast, and half was still way more than most people.But this guy was seriously strong, and he was taking a deep breath as if to begin a new jutsu.

“Yōton: Molten Flow!”

_Lava release?!_ Naruto hardly had the time to gawk, but that was an extremely rare kekkei genkai.Kakashi had taught them about different nature transformations and those born with the ability to mold two at once.It was really down to the luck of genetics outside of special circumstances, so the fact that this genin – if he really _was_ a genin – could do something like that was just wild.Naruto let his fire and winds die immediately, seeing as it was likely to get very, _very_ hot without his help.

The crowd took in a collective breath as Kinōda spewed molten matter from his mouth, the black and red glowing substance looking almost exactly like the stuff Naruto had seen on Mount Hiuchi.He could feel the heat from several meters away, and it was spreading rapidly over the ground as the boy rotated to cover all directions.Naruto backflipped onto the wall, watching as the slag hit the stone; it scorched on contact, and even seemed to be eating through in places.This wasn’t good at all; a few of the spectators directly above that section were fleeing their seats in case of a collapse.Kinōda changed tactics now that the ground was thoroughly untouchable, sending small globs of lava one after the other towards Naruto.They were simple enough to avoid even when shot predictively and in rapid succession, but the splash from them hitting the wall was the dangerous part.He had to quickly shake off drops and strings when they landed, and before long his coat had several red-rimmed holes in the fabric, and a band on his arm had nearly burned through to skin.

_Jeez, he’s_ **_still_ ** _not slowing down.I’m afraid he’s going to destroy the walls before he runs out of chakra._

**_Don’t worry about the walls; worry about your match._ **

Naruto kicked off hard from the wall, throwing another kunai at Kinōda’s head in the same movement. _Suiton: Water Blast._ He repeated the jutsu in short bursts as he flew towards his opponent, trying to catch the amorphous blobs of lava with each spout.The rapid cooling changed their trajectory enough to cause most to pass by harmlessly, though a few he had to actively avoid.A final blast of water was enlarged several times over the others and let out in a stream, dowsing the ground around Kinōda and billowing up steam from the brisk cooling.Naruto was only a few meters away, too close to dodge or put out any more lava, which was exactly what blasted towards him right then – just as Kinōda jerked his head to the side to let the kunai pass.

This time Naruto got the momentum change right.He transported to the kunai just before the lava would have hit, twisting as he appeared behind Kinōda to slash at the boy’s back.There had been no chance to counter.Blood and pus from sliced blisters hissed as drops hit the still too-hot ground, and Kinōda staggered forward.Naruto’s feet touched down, and his jika-tabi started melting almost immediately.They weren’t at risk of melting through completely, but it made each step feel sticky and slow.

“Fūin: Gravity Well,” Naruto breathed, deciding not to assume victory just yet.This guy had shown incredible fortitude so far, so he had to be ready for anything.Kinōda fell to his hands and knees, his palms sizzling, loose pants beginning to smoke.His muscles strained against the intense pressure, refusing to give in.As a matter of fact, he actually managed to lurch backwards and try to straighten up, legs shaking with the effort of pushing upright.

“I will not . . . lose . . .” he croaked, turning slowly, painfully towards Naruto.“I cannot . . . lose!”His biceps bulged as he raised them, and more lava dripped from his mouth and covered his hands and arms up to the elbow.The material seemed to harden on contact, leaving the outside still dripping molten.He still looked ready to fight, grimly determined.

_He won’t give up,_ Naruto thought with dismay. _If I let up this jutsu, he’ll attack again with that lava stuff all over him.I can’t counter that._

**_He has to be low on chakra.Just drain him and be done with it.He can’t fight back if he’s unconscious._ **

_Yeah . . . I feel bad about this, though._ He sped through a complex series of hand seals while Kinōda was struggling to take a single step.“Sorry.I can’t lose either.Fūin: Chakra Vortex!”

He felt the unsettling sensation as soon as his hand touched the scalding ground.Chakra began pouring from him in a visible blue stream, disappearing into the center of the Gravity Well which had warped and begun spiraling inward.He had only done this three times so far, and it wasn't really complicated to do, only to understand.Jiraiya had tried to explain where the chakra went, but all the talk about dimensional space and theory on its dissemination had gotten confusing.What mattered was that it was a simple enough modification of the other sealing technique he had used, as evidenced by its structure changing to incorporate this whirlpool effect.He kept his palm down, knowing that this was one that needed to be held in order to be maintained.For his part, Kinōda had stopped trying to move and was now watching his own chakra being sucked out of him, flowing side-by-side with Naruto's into the maelstrom and disappearing into nothingness.

“Jinchūriki . . .”Kinōda practically spat the word, his voice raw with contempt and pain alike.Naruto frowned, but said nothing.It was like Sasuke had said - you had to play to your strengths, and this combination of jutsu did just that.Kinōda fell again, the superheated stones on his arms crumbling away.He gasped, then clenched his teeth and ever-so slowly lifted a hand, dragging it against the tremendous pull from below.His fingers closed around a belt pouch, and he ripped it free so that both his hand and it fell back to the basalt surface.Several tiny black pills spilled out, all racing to vanish into one of the many small crevices.He growled and tried to catch them, sluggish movements unable to capture any.In desperation he let himself hit the ground, face practically slamming into porous black stones, mouth open and gnashing to seize the last one before it could be sucked down.

**_What a pitiful sight._ **

_He's just doing everything he can to win.I don't know what reasons he has to be here, but they must be important if he's going this far._ More burns were blossoming across the boy's face, mostly around already blistered lips.It hurt to watch.Naruto was on the verge of lifting his palm to cancel the technique when Kinōda managed to snag the pill with his tongue, drawing it in and biting down in triumph.Chakra billowed around him as a result, the sudden infusion not only giving him extra time but also providing the strength to start standing again.

**_Okay, pitiful, but impressive.You're running low on chakra; either take a pill yourself or cut that out._ **

This was not the fight Naruto wanted to have in the second round.He had used an insane amount of chakra already, and the last time he had come close to using up all of it had been the first encounter with Zabuza.Fighting Gaara with Sasuke and Hinata had drained them all, of course, but not to that degree.He cursed and decided to lift his hand; there was no reason to risk his own chakra exhaustion when a soldier pill could be waited out.His palm came up stinging, though it began healing immediately.Nothing happened.

_Something's wrong.It won't stop._ He slammed his hand down again, trying to undo the Gravity Well.It remained stubbornly active, as did the constant drain on his chakra.He was getting nauseated and lightheaded. _I'm not doing anything wrong, it just won't stop!_

**_Calm down, and take a soldier pill.You need more time to figure this out._** Naruto reached into his own belt pouch.Nothing.His bandages, salves, and soldier pills were all missing.That was impossible; he remembered putting in fresh supplies that morning. ** _You did,_** Kurama growled. ** _Somebody took them._**

_Without any of us noticing?!That's impossible!_

**_Improbable, not impossible.Get the hell out of this, kid; you're going to pass out soon._** Naruto nodded, ignoring Kinōda's confused look as he scrambled towards the edge of the jutsu.The invisible weight hit him the instant he stepped out of his small zone of control at the center, but he remained upright, if barely.He fell more than walked the few agonizing steps to escape, but discovered something horrifying once he got there: he was blocked in.An invisible barrier was in the way, preventing him from moving any further.He pushed, the futile action only managing to nearly trip him into the ground.

“Genma!” he yelled, his voice ringing painfully in his own ears.“Stop the match!Something's wrong!”Genma landed in front of him, one eyebrow raised and simply moving the senbon in his mouth to the other side.“Genma!”The jōnin placed a hand behind his ear as if to say 'What?'

**_He can't hear you.Probably thinks the other kid did this.Naruto, this is bad.You need to break this barrier.Your chakra will be gone in thirty seconds at best._ **

_Help me!_ Naruto pleaded, flashbacks obscuring his vision; watching Hinata's desperate expression from behind his own dying eyes; Sasuke turning away and trying to stem his tears; Kakashi's voice raw with emotion.He couldn't die again – he couldn't.

**_I can't!_** Kurama roared. ** _This is a clear setup, and more than just the two of us are at risk if you fall for it!_**

“Kuchiyose no jutsu!” Naruto yelled, trying to call on Feng to help.Nothing happened.He didn't have enough chakra.Black spots were starting to dominate his vision.“Kuchiyose no jutsu!”He couldn't even summon Huang.“Damnit Kurama, I help me!”Nothing.The Kyūbi was a silent rumbling in the back of his head.He fell, cheek beginning to smolder as soon as it touched down.The world was spinning.He was lying on his side, and could just barely see the spectating area.Sasuke and Hinata were both clearing the railing at that instant, streaking down the wall and into the arena.But it would be too late by the time they arrived.He could see Genma shouting, now trying to break through the barrier with various jutsu and his fists.But it was too late.Naruto felt the last of his chakra dwindling away, and the world faded to darkness.Kurama's voice was the last thing he heard, sounding far away in the dullness.

**_Naruto!_ **

* * *

“Hakke: Mountain Crusher!”  
“Raikiri!”

Hinata and Sasuke reached and struck the barrier simultaneously, sending ripples through it and expelling a blast of energy to either side.Lightning skittered along the dome, trying to pierce it but unable to find a weakness.Hinata found a similar end with her technique, the recoil from the unsuccessful breach causing her to stumble back several steps.

“What the hell happened?!” Sasuke shouted at Genma, drawing back to take another hit.

“I thought the barrier was Kinōda's doing at first,” he replied, leaping away to avoid the pair's attacks.“You heard me try to call it, but then he collapsed too, and the barrier's still here.”

“Status!” Kakashi arrived in a flicker of motion beside Sasuke, his own Raikiri flaring into existence and striking alongside his student's.The shield warped under the added pressure, but held.

“Powerful barrier; Naruto's chakra is nearly gone,” Hinata said in a rush between techniques.The thought that no one had yet seen some of them was irrelevant.“Hakke: Seven Moon Spear!”A lance of light elongated in front of her, seven differently-colored glowing globes circling near its point.She launched it full force, forgetting to warn the others about the impact.Luckily they both saw the amount of chakra being kneaded into the attack and fell back just in time.It hit the barrier with incredible force, its vibrations even affecting the ground beneath them.This jutsu utilized her chakra control to its utmost, concentrating almost all of that energy into a near unfathomably small point.It penetrated, but just barely, a few cracks springing up around the shaft.Hinata kept the frustrated sound in her throat unuttered, springing forward instead to deliver a second Mountain Crusher to the butt of the spear.Sasuke intercepted her halfway, driving her to the ground just as a crimson streak of light flashed by where her head had been.

An all-too familiar, bone-chilling cry filled the air as the transparent blockade shattered and exploded outward.The upper half of Kinōda's body flew by and hit the far wall, spattering blood everywhere and prompting more screams from the stands.Everyone was in full panic, running for exits while chūnin scrambled around trying to calm people down.Naruto stood now where he had fallen, coated in streaming red chakra mixed with his own blood, eerily empty white eyes staring out from the face of a miniature kitsune.It was the same transformation as in the forest against Itachi and Kisame, except there was an extra tail.Five of them swished behind him, carving wide furrows in the ground and lashing out towards anything that moved.It was chaos, and the realization of all of Hinata's fears.

“Doton: Stone Prison!” she cried, both palms hitting the ground hard.Earth erupted around Naruto in a flash, enclosing him completely.

“Katon: Great Fireball,” two voices yelled, Kakashi and Sasuke igniting the dome almost before it closed.

“Suiton: Water Blast!” Hinata poured chakra into the technique as soon as the rocks would be hot enough, hardening the shell in an attempt to contain Naruto.But this form was nothing like the normal cloak.The enclosure broke apart like paper, effortlessly thrashed away through the combined efforts of claws and tails.He whirled on them, all bloodlust and madness.Those eyes wanted nothing but destruction.They didn’t belong to Naruto.

“Hokage-Shiki Jijun Jutsu: Edict of Enlightenment.”The ANBU agent who had been tasked with keeping tabs on Naruto rose out of the ground as if from a puddle, one hand outstretched with a symbol for ‘Sit’ wavering on his palm.Ten spiked pillars rose up around Naruto, enclosing him in a tight circle of . . . wood.

“Mokuton?” Sasuke expressed the awe that Hinata felt, though she was less concerned with a supposedly extinct kekkei genkai than she was with Naruto.He was still standing in the center of that ring, turning in slow circles as if confused.

“Stand back!” Tsunade landed atop one of the wooden columns, letting out an irritated tsk before ripping a pendant from her neck.It flashed blue-green in the sunlight as she leapt into the ring, standing directly in front of Naruto, unafraid.

“Tsunade-sama!” Genma said sharply, rushing forward.Kakashi stopped him with an outstretched arm and a shake of his head.

“You have no idea what he’s capable of, Genma.Leave this to her.”The senbon in the other jōnin’s mouth clicked several times to express his displeasure, but he stood down.Hinata didn’t want to admit it, but this was far beyond her or Sasuke’s ability to handle.What mattered was that Naruto was alive right now, even if under this guise.She only hoped that Tsunade could bring him back.

“Considering the shady circumstances,” Tsunade began, lowering into a fighting stance, “I think it’s safe to say this was an accident.But don’t think I’ll let you off easy if you’re unconscious, kid.”A guttural sound escaped Naruto’s slit of a mouth along with a few puffs of steam.He moved, becoming nothing more than a blur of motion, but so did Tsunade.

Watching Tsunade fight one-on-one with Naruto was like something out of legend – a spectacular, terrifying legend.Hinata felt her eyes trying to keep up with the battle, but she could only catch snippets.Every once and a while she caught an image of the Godaime blocking an attack with her entire body put into the defense, Naruto’s claw or bundle of tails burning into her skin during the instant of contact.Shockwaves of force rippled throughout the arena at every blow.The earth ruptured once per second it seemed.Nobody spoke during the short and impossibly intense skirmish, the only sounds being the frightened noises from above.Tsunade appeared above Naruto like a bolt of lightning, her heel already making contact with his head by the time Hinata spotted her.The amount of chakra accumulated in that one spot was mind-boggling to see.In fact, it seemed impossible.

“Tsūtenkyaku!” she roared.The result was cataclysmic.A crater formed instantaneously, and the ground within it exploded along with everything within a thirty meter radius.Hinata got off the ground just in time, Kakashi and Sasuke only a beat ahead thanks to their Sharingan.Genma was thrown away on a sizable chunk of rubble, though he seemed to be riding it capably enough.Tenzō had merely flipped to one side, keeping his arms towards the battle and maintaining his technique.Hinata landed lightly on unsteady slabs of foundation, refocusing with her Byakugan to find Tsunade and Naruto.She was several meters below the original floor, standing atop Naruto and holding the necklace to his back.“Tenzō!”The masked man stole forward, leaping into the crater in a flash to touch the necklace with one hand before leaping back out, a trail of chakra now connecting him with Naruto.

There was no time to call out a warning – Hinata didn’t even see it coming.One moment Naruto was being subdued, and the next two of his tails had pierced Tsunade’s torso.Her eyes went wide, and blood started to drip at the corner of her mouth.She stumbled back, falling heavily against the curved side of the depression.Naruto growled and tried to right himself from her kick, but the cord of chakra now attached to his back seemed to be inhibiting his movements.He kept making sounds of protest and pain, howling at the sky.Hinata had no words.This was a nightmare come real.

“You . . .” Tsunade coughed, shoving herself upright.Blood coated the place she had just fallen.“That hurt . . . you miscreant . . .” She brought her hands together in a trembling tiger seal.“Ninpō: Sōzō Saisei.”Hinata watched with stupefied wonder as the diamond on the Hokage’s forehead began to glow, a seal formation branching out from it across her face.The puncture wounds in her chest began to close at a frightening pace, flesh knitting together before their eyes.That should have been impossible, but it was the second such thing that she had done in the span of minutes.Hinata had to recognize in that moment exactly why people were chosen to become kage.“Now,” she breathed, lowering her hands as the markings disappeared.The diamond didn’t reappear.“I hope you’re ready to settle down.”

“Nearly finished, Hokage-sama,” Tenzō stated, sounding as if he were under a tremendous strain.The endpoint of the blue trail was serving as the focal point for Kurama’s receding chakra, which was slowly being stripped away to reveal Naruto’s body beneath.His skin had been ripped away like it had before, but this time he appeared to be in severe agony.Hinata wanted to run to him, to cry, to find out who had done this, but now wasn’t the time for any of that.She raced to the rim and stood there for a second, trying to steady her breathing.

“Tsunade-sama,” she breathed, keeping her voice steady.“Once the Kyūbi’s chakra is suppressed, he won’t have any of his own left.I think Kurama did it to keep him alive.”

“I guessed as much.This will do temporarily, but he’ll need more medical attention.”Tsunade pointed a finger at Naruto, beginning to siphon a thin stream of her own chakra into him.“His body will adapt this and make it his own before long.You have nothing to worry about.”

“I’m not—” Hinata began to protest, but stopped at a look from the Godaime.There was no use lying to the woman.Of course she was worried.Naruto had just gone on another rampage, actually killed somebody this time, and could have died as a result.How could Tsunade be so calm?

“What’s happening with the exam?” Sasuke asked, alighting next to her.Kakashi was right behind him, his eyes scanning around them instead of watching the last of the red chakra disappear.

“We’re continuing it once we get everything fixed up,” Tsunade said firmly, stepping out of the hole and dusting off her ruined attire.“Whoever wins the next fight will have a bye the following round, and everything else will go on as normal.”

“But—!” Hinata started again, only to be silenced by another hard look.

“I’ll make sure he’s taken care of,” Kakashi assured them, placing a hand on her and Sasuke’s shoulders.“You two need to remain focused on your next matches.I know you’re shaken right now, but remember that this could have gone much worse.Naruto’s alive and will recover quickly enough, knowing him.We’ll worry about the consequences later, understand?”Hinata nodded, forcing herself to look away from Naruto and take a deep, steadying breath.

_He’s alive.He’s okay.We’re okay._ She kept repeating that all the way back to the spectating area, not even realizing until halfway there that her friends were with her the whole way.She had been too distraught to notice that they had all leapt down to see if they could help Naruto as well.Even Temari was there.

Nobody said a word as they reconvened up above, though they all stayed nearby to Sasuke and Hinata.There wasn’t much to say.The match had been exhilarating to watch up until it had become clear that something had gone wrong.Naruto’s new jutsu were astonishing, and the fact that he had gotten a handle on so many in such a brief time was nothing short of amazing.She had been thrilled to see that he had mastered his father’s technique.But now . . . Now everything had gone so wrong so fast.It was all a blur of fright after she had seen the alarm in his eyes.Kinōda was dead, and she knew that Naruto would blame himself for it even though it had been out of his control.He would find out about Tsunade before long as well, and she was afraid of how much that revelation would hurt him.It was all so upsettingly confounding.

“Kakashi and Tsunade will find out who did it,” Sasuke said quietly, staring down at the stretcher now carrying Naruto’s prone form away.His skin was repairing itself, but slower than it had last time.A second team of medic-nin were toting Kinōda’s two halves through the door already.“And if they don’t, we will.”Hinata could only numbly incline her head, unable to look at the carnage riddling the arena.She had to focus.Her next match was against Tenten, and it wouldn’t be easy.She did her best to block everything out, to form a strategy against her friend’s bukijutsu and to think ahead for the next possible matchups.But her mind kept going back to one thing no matter how strictly she had been instructed not to worry.

_Naruto . . . What’s happening to you?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember now why chapters 13 and 24 took so long. Fight scenes – fight scenes everywhere!
> 
> Heya folks. This took much longer than I wanted it to, and it’s only the first half, but I was determined to get something out in a semi-sorta-not-really-timely fashion, and this was a good break in the midst of the exam. Speaking of, if you wanted to know where I got ‘thirty-fourth’ from: joint exams began after the Third War concluded, biannually. War ended a short time after Kakashi was promoted to jōnin (at age 9) according to the Kannabi Bridge incident, assumed around age 10. He’s now 27, so 17 years with 2 exams per year = 34 (re-do from the last ruined set). #WeDidTheMath
> 
> A big thank you to Rhi for reading through and editing this chapter. It’s the longest stand-alone so far, though CH28-29 were originally one chapter that was all edited at once! As always, I appreciate every favorite, follow, and review we receive on the story. It’s wonderful to see so many people enjoying the fic.
> 
> Next chapter may be delayed until early 2016, but not too far; looking at January most likely. Sorry to leave a cliffhanger like that (I do that a lot, I know), but duty calls. Feel free to send me messages and/or leave reviews if you have questions or comments.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> \- Wes


	33. Breaking Limits

“I have to get back and help settle everyone down, so let’s make this brief,” Tsunade murmured, shrugging out of her haori to remove the ruined happi and belt underneath.Kakashi turned pointedly away, though there was nowhere to go to allow for more privacy.The tiny back room that they had retreated to was somewhere beneath the arena wall.“Any theories?”

“None beyond what we discussed last time.The three of them spoke to Kurama after the incident during the second stage, and he confirmed that it wasn’t Itachi or the shinobi from thirteen years ago.We’re dealing with an unknown Uchiha.”

“Or just an unknown Sharingan,” she pointed out.The sound of a scroll unsealing almost made him curious enough to turn around, but the urge had to be resisted.Tsunade probably had an extra set of clothes on hand.Women tended to plan for everything.“Ward the space immediately around us – as small an areas as you can, mind – and suppress your chakra.”He complied promptly, creating a sound-proof bubble and increasing its chakra density, ensuring that not even a Byakugan could penetrate.“It’s clear that somebody fixed the match so that Naruto would be forced to use Kurama’s chakra to survive, allowing them to take control.The question is . . . Why?”

“I can think of a handful of reasons,” Kakashi said wryly.“You’ve been getting bombarded with ‘requests’ to control the Kyūbi, by our people and from other villages, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that an enemy might have gotten their hands on a Sharingan.It may be an operation to sabotage our jinchūriki.”

“That doesn’t make sense.If they have this capability, why not wait for Naruto to leave the village on a mission and confront him away from the bulk of our forces?They could steal and reseal Kurama then.Sneaking in to do it here doesn’t track unless there’s an ulterior motive.”

“Maybe they just wanted to let it loose to destroy Konoha,” he suggested.“Kirigakure attempted a similar plot, if you recall.” _Rin . . ._

“Whoever it was doesn’t have the capability, or else they would have; the first demonstration would have proved enough to them.No, I think this was planned to be a spectacle in front of the other visiting villages.It simultaneously undermines our security and ability as a village while showing that we’re not in control of our own bijū.You can turn around.”He did so, seeing that Tsunade was dressed once again in an identical garb, the soiled clothing nowhere to be seen.

“Surmising the intent seems pointless without more information.I don’t think that’s why you brought me here anyway.”He held eye contact, aware that his left eye was still uncovered.The Hokage didn’t look away.A daunting silence stretched for a full minute before she sighed.

“I have reason to believe that the threat is somewhere within the walls of Konoha.It’s not information I can freely share with you,” she added when his lips parted to ask where the certainty came from, “suffice to say I am confident enough to act on that belief.Until I get to the bottom of things, I think it would be best if Naruto left the village for a while.”

“With respect, Tsunade-sama, I think that should be a last resort.We could increase our security and watch on him, try to detect who is doing this, and—”

“This _is_ a last resort, Kakashi.”Her eyes were firm, though not hard.“If you thought the backlash from last exams was bad . . . We’re about to see a whole new level of discontent from our own villagers, let alone what the other nations will demand.Almost every clan has expressed some level of concern; Hiashi is the only one who hasn’t, though privately he’s told me that he worries more about Hinata as of late.I don’t blame him.”

“Sending Naruto away from the village seems like an invitation for Akatsuki or another village to capture him.I’m not certain I could keep him safe.”No, that was almost a guarantee.Kakashi was under no illusions that he could stand up to most of the members of that shadowy organization; Itachi and Kisame had been too much to handle with several other jōnin helping.That pair alone would have taken on Kurama in that three-tailed form had the rest of them not intervened.“Sasuke and Hinata would go as well; you’d have to throw them in a sealed cell to stop them.”

“Jiraiya agreed to take him if it came to this.I’d need you here to help me with the investigation regardless.”Tsunade folded her arms, looking troubled once again.“I’d rather not have to send those two, especially considering that they’re slated for promotion; we’re short on capable chūnin squad leaders.But I was prepared for that.With a group of three I can pass it off as an extended surveillance or border patrol mission while giving them a different directive.”

“Just those two?” The question had to be asked even if he knew that answer already.It just wasn’t fair.

“You know as well as I that even suggesting Naruto’s promotion to chūnin right now would be foolish.We know that it’s not his fault, but the rest of the world sees him as volatile, and I can’t prove the contrary yet.The kid’s one of the most capable shinobi to come out of the academy in a long time, but strength is only half of the equation.If the others can’t see his temperance, it’s all for naught.”

“I understand, Tsunade-sama,” Kakashi murmured.It was a hard pill to swallow – all of it: the fact that Naruto and his friends would be forced from the village for the sake of politics, the idea that he couldn’t be promoted for the same reasons, and the complete lack of justice in it all.But he understood that this was truly a favor that Tsunade was doing for them.An unreasonable or uncaring Hokage might have locked Naruto up, or worse yet they could have transferred Kurama to another person, killing Naruto in the process.He supposed blessings needed counting, however sparse they seemed.

“I need to get back.They’ll be finished repairing the damage soon, and it’s my job to oversee the exams and assuage the dignitaries’ concerns.Ignorant old fools,” she muttered, stepping to the edge of the ward by the door.“I expect you’re heading to the infirmary?”Kakashi only nodded, allowing the barrier to fall.“Good.I think he’ll need you when he wakes up.”With that she was gone, leaving him alone in that small room with only somber thoughts as company.

_How did I let it come to this?_ he agonized, feet finding their own way towards the makeshift triage center before long.There had been so many shinobi watching.He had kept the Sharingan open throughout everything despite the strain.Hiashi had caught them on the way down to mention detecting a flash of something under floor of the arena, but its source was unknown, and the fight afterwards had crumbled the foundation enough to obscure any evidence.He had been watching Naruto all morning too, and not once had there been an indication that his supplies had been stolen.He had failed his students, and they were paying the price for it.

Kakashi lowered into the spindly chair at Naruto’s bedside, looking at the boy’s resting features while continuing to think on the situation.The skin had already grown back thanks to Kurama’s influence, but there was a feverish hue to both cheeks and brow now.That was worrisome in and of itself; Naruto never got sick.Perhaps it was only an aftereffect of the chakra.

“Kuchiyose no jutsu.”He leaned down and tapped the stone floor, calling all eight of his longtime friends.The ninken appeared in their usual cloud of smoke, sitting with ears perked attentively, the leader perched patiently atop Buru’s head.“Pakkun, I need you to go observe the rest of the exam.I doubt anything will go wrong, but I’d still like a firsthand account of the matches later.The rest of you search for anything suspicious.”

“That’s a bit vague, Kakashi,” the pug replied irritably.“What happened?You look stressed.”

“I told you what’s been happening with Naruto and the possibility of another incident.The last stage of the exams is nearly over, and something happened.”He kept the explanation succinct, but included as many details that the dogs would need.It was a long shot that they would be able to find anything, but they had other senses that human shinobi did not.In a flash all but Pakkun flickered away, off to scout as instructed.

“It isn’t your fault, Kakashi.Don’t blame yourself for someone else’s transgressions; you’ve done that enough already.”

“I’m fine.Go watch Sasuke’s match, please.”Pakkun stared at him, not buying the answer, but turned and trotted off anyway.The mutt could be annoyingly perceptive at times, but he was counting on that sensory ability from all of them.

The muffled sound of Tsunade’s enhanced voice reached him a short while later, signaling that the contest would be starting up soon.He settled in to wait, muttering jutsu after jutsu until the room was covered with almost every ward that he knew how to make, extending each a long ways into the solid stone floor for good measure.The first suspicious thing to breach them would meet a swift end, no questions asked.

/*\

_Deep breath in.Deep breath out._ Concentrating on breathing was one of the few ways Sasuke knew how to keep his mind off of Naruto’s situation.As annoying as it was to admit, Kakashi was right: he needed to focus on the upcoming matches.Fighting Hinata in the final round was going to be hard as hell without knowing what she learned with the Sandaime, and ahead of that he had to face Neji of all people.Two Hyūga opponents in a row sounded thoroughly unpleasant, but at least he would have three fights’ worth of rest, and Hinata had to go head-to-head with Lee before the final round.He had full confidence in her ability, but it wasn’t a sure thing that she could pull off a victory.Five gates was an incredible amount of raw power; one hit might take her out, even.

“You’re supposed to be focusing on your next fight, not worrying.”Hinata’s comment pulled him from that line of thought, prompting a slight frown alongside as he glanced her way.She was watching, those perceptive eyes seeming to know what he was thinking.

“Sometimes I wonder which of our dōjutsu is actually stronger,” he muttered, leaning onto the railing and looking around.The four others were closeby still, Team Gai on one side and speaking quietly in a group, Temari on the other leaning against a wall.She seemed as lost in thought as Sasuke had just been.“I’m just going over the remaining matches in my head.You have a plan for Tenten yet?”He expected her to take the bout with relative ease, but the other kunoichi’s fighting style was fast and loose, making it difficult to predict the next move.

“I think so.She knows most ranged attacks won’t have any effect, and I think I’m faster when it comes to a melee, so—”

“You think?”He couldn’t help the bit of sarcasm in that rhetorical question.“Hinata, you’re fast enough to keep Kakashi-sensei busy.Now’s not the time for modesty.”

“So I think she’ll try to employ some kind of trap, maybe one involving fūinjutsu,” she concluded as if he hadn’t spoken.He smirked.Hinata often confused confidence and honesty with hubris.“If I can counter something like that, I think I’ll be okay.What about you?”

“Neji is going to be a bitch to fight,” he grimaced, ignoring the disapproving look he got in return for that comment.“You trained with him a bit over the last few weeks, right?Any clue about new abilities he’s been working on?”

“I did, but I’m not going to tell you his new techniques.That wouldn’t be fair, Sasuke.”

“We’re shinobi.Isn’t the whole point to find advantages wherever we can?”

“The point of this exam is to prove our ability to navigate the known and unknown abilities of our peers,” she countered.“We’re judged based on our strength and decision-making skills, and it would give you an unfair advantage if you knew what Neji-nīsan was practicing in secret.”

“I bet he’s telling Tenten all about you.”Sasuke shook his head but smirked at the same time.He had expected this response; it was just a way to kill time and keep her distracted.The arena was nearly back to normal again thanks to all of the chūnin working on it.Hinata didn’t even grace that assumption with a response, likely thinking the best of her cousin and anticipating he would never do something like that.

“Hey kids,” a vaguely familiar deep voice intoned, causing both of them to blink and look straight down.Pakkun had somehow snuck up and sat between them at the railing, examining the ring with that signature bored expression of his.“Kakashi is guarding Naruto in the infirmary; I’m sure you already tried checking, but he placed wards against that.”

“I thought so,” Hinata sighed, chewing on her lower lip.“Does he seem okay?”

“Naruto or Kakashi?” the dog asked dryly, shaking his head.“The kid is fine, it looks like.He’ll be out for a while.Kakashi is more shaken than I’ve seen him in a long time, though.”

“Let me guess: blaming himself for what happened?”Sasuke queried, earning a raised brow from Pakkun and a furrowed one from Hinata.“I’ve trained one-on-one with him more than them, and he’s opened up once or twice.He hides it well, but spending enough time with the guy makes it pretty clear that he’s the type to take on unnecessary responsibility.”

“No wonder he speaks so highly of you,” Pakkun chuckled, turning back to observe the finishing touches of the cleanup effort.“Aye, something like that.The rest is for him to tell.I’m only here to observe and report back.My comrades are searching for clues to what happened.”

“That your dog?” Temari interjected, having strolled over and hunched down to peer at the hitai-ate-wearing animal.“Kind of small for a ninken, isn’t he?”

“Kind of flat-chested for a girl your age, aren’t you?” he quipped back irritably.The kunoichi’s jaw dropped, and she began to sputter in search of a response while Sasuke coughed to hide a laugh.Hinata blushed slightly and gave Pakkun a disapproving look.“You should know not to judge a shinobi by his size by now, child.”

“He’s one of Kakashi’s,” Sasuke said as Temari straightened, her cheeks flushed with anger – and probably embarrassment.

“Makes _perfect_ sense,” she ground out, stalking back to the wall and crossing her arms with a harrumph.Sasuke shook his head, wiping the smirk from his face.That had been entirely her fault, though Pakkun may have taken it too far.

“Friends and guests of Konoha,” Tsunade’s voice began over the muted hum from the stands.Most spectators had returned to their seats, though there were a few noticeable vacant sections now, most of which had been occupied by Konoha citizens.“I would like to apologize for the interruption in events once again, but I thank you for your patience.The final stage will now continue as planned.”A few scattered cheers rose up, but they were nowhere close to the level of excitement from before.

“The tenth match is between Uchiha Sasuke and Hyūga Neji,” Genma announced from the center, standing near where the floor had recently been completely destroyed.It looked almost like new again thanks to all of the earth techniques.

“Good luck,” Hinata said as Sasuke sauntered towards the tunnel, Neji not far behind.He waved lazily by way of response, not turning around.Confidence was still with him, but he wasn’t fool enough to believe that this would be a walk in the park.Neji had obviously been practicing with genjutsu in order to counter the Sharingan, and there was no doubt he could keep up in speed.This would be a fight of ninjutsu and technique more than anything else.

It felt a bit odd walking back onto ground that had been covered in lava and broken to pieces not half an hour gone.His eyes flicked to the western wall of their own accord; no one had bothered to remove the blood spattered and smeared across the concrete where half of Kinōda’s body had struck.A good portion of the walls opposite were still charred or damaged in some fashion.The disturbing events that caused them aside, they were good reminders to all that genin were putting everything on the line here.These were fights to the death for all intents and purposes, oftentimes between friends, and only stopped short when possible.

“Any rules changed as a result of the last match?” Sasuke asked as he reached Genma, Neji halting not far behind.The jōnin shook his head, the senbon between his teeth clicking in a show of irritation.

“Same as always.As far we’re aware, the last match was a fluke between two kids who overestimated their own abilities.There are still no rules aside from the one: if I say a match is over, it’s over.Ready yourselves.We’re starting in a moment.”He formed a few seals to amplify his voice, extending the same jutsu to them as well.Sasuke memorized it, for no real reason besides his ability to do so.

“You ready?” he asked, raising a hand in the seal of confrontation.Neji mimicked the action before lowering into a traditional jūken stance.His face was smooth, devoid of emotion, giving Sasuke the least amount of information to process.

“I am.Show me how high you can fly, Uchiha Sasuke.”

“Begin!”

Sasuke’s feet left the ground the instant Genma’s hand moved to signal the start of the match, propelling himself backwards as fast as the chakra-assisted jump would allow.He sent a fist of regular shuriken and two fūma in retreat, and as expected they were easily deflected.However, as his feet hit the wall and stuck, it was clear that Neji had a solid game plan coming into the fight.Rather than wait in place and deflect with the rotation technique, he simply charged forward and swatted the necessary ones aside while dodging the rest, obviously trying to close and turn it into a melee.That wasn’t going to happen – at least not yet.

_Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu.Kage Bunshin no Jutsu._ His hands raced through seals as if they had been practiced all his life, when in reality the next techniques had been learned very recently.The Sharingan was handy like that.Tiger twice for the clones, boar, ram, horse, tiger, dog, snake, horse, rat.While sprinting horizontally, Sasuke turned and spat out two water clones, followed closely by a single shadow clone who immediately unsheathed its short swords and charged Neji.The other two opted to use a water shuriken technique in an attempt to slow their opponent down, which only half-worked.

“Hakke: Blinding Slash!” True to the technique’s name, Sasuke had only an instant to realize what was happening before being forced to shut his eyes and flip backwards.He could feel the scythe of chakra rushing past beneath him, and the splash of water and bursting sound of the bunshin exploding signaled the end to that distraction.But it had slowed Neji down just enough for him to prepare the follow-ups. 

_Katon Kekkai: Infernal Wall.Fūton: Downdraft._ Sasuke opened his eyes the instant the light passed, white-hot fire expelling from his mouth in a stream that first blocked the path between him and Neji, rapidly racing around to enclose the other boy in a circle of fire several meters high.The flames were intensely hot even from a ‘safe’ distance of ten meters.The follow-up jutsu – copied from Gaara a bare two hours ago – crashed down at the center of the inferno, hopefully serving the dual purpose of halting Neji’s advance and fanning the flames even further.The wall swelled and roared hungrily, arcing inward to form a fiery dome that collapsed in on itself, swallowing the genin stuck inside.That had been the intent, anyway.

Bafflingly enough, Neji rocketed through the fire towards Sasuke a beat later, though it was nearly impossible to tell what he was doing for the steam billowing about his form.Sasuke had time only to throw a hard block as a palm streaked out of the cloud, his other arm too slow to deflect a spinning kick straight to the gut.He grunted and flew backwards from the force, skidding on the wall for a few seconds before flipping sideways back onto the ground.Neji landed right after him, much more visible now that the steam was gone and already closing.

_He must have covered himself with water – a_ lot _of water – and countered the Downdraft’s force somehow._ There was no time to nurse the bruise or be impressed that the Hyūga’s quick thinking.Neji was upon him and swinging into a familiar rhythm. _Two strikes.Four strikes.Eight strikes._ Sasuke counted them out, watching and countering each movement with reflexes honed from years of training, and from many months practicing with his Sharingan.He knew from sparring countless times with Hinata that there was an exploitable weakness to this series of movements, though one available only to the swiftest shinobi – or ones with a particular dōjutsu that could identify the correct time to act.

In the razor-thin gap between the set of thirty-two and sixty-four strikes, Sasuke brought his hands together and executed the fastest water clone and replacement jutsu combination of his life.Appropriating chakra during the initial defense and executing six seals in less than half a second was nothing compared to Kakashi’s ability, but Sasuke still felt a rush of adrenaline from the accomplishment as he appeared directly behind Neji, whose palm was just landing on the clone’s shoulder.

_Katon: Great Fireball._ Sasuke knew that Neji could see him with the Byakugan, but the intent had been to use his superior speed with hand seals to outmaneuver that superior sight.Neji carried his movement forward, lunging with the momentum and diving to one side.The fire caught on his coat, but a swift roll quickly extinguished it, and he was up to pivot and streak towards Sasuke without missing a beat.

“Fine, if you want close-ranged combat so badly,” he growled, wrenching the black blades from the holster on his back.This was the newest set, made specifically to utilize a particular jutsu to its fullest.Showing off one new technique and a bit of swordplay wouldn’t upset his chances against Hinata all that much.Besides, he had already seen a few of hers, and would likely see more before the final round. _Raiton: Resonance._ A strong electric current flowed into the swords, lighting them up in a brilliant white-blue.A long chain connected the pommels in a similar fashion to kusarigama, but he limited the chakra to the blades for the time being.Lightning jumped between the weapons constantly, though Sasuke suppressed it as much as possible.This was intended to be a painful surprise.

“Suiton: Obscuring Fog.” Neji jerked to a halt the moment Sasuke’s jutsu came into play, expelling a thick cloud from his mouth that rapidly spread to shroud everything from sight.

“Fūton: Hurricane,” Sasuke responded, banishing the mist with one of Naruto’s techniques, briefly sending the twin swords airborne to do so.He put himself in the eye of the small tornado, serving the secondary purpose of warding off Neji’s instant advance.His hands flew through yet more seals. _Raiton: Current._ Lightning chakra flowed into the miniature tempest as it expanded and raced outward, lacing the already sharpened air with a more deadly energy.

“Hakkeshō: Revolving Heaven!” As soon as Neji’s rotation began, Sasuke had to change plans yet again.This was getting annoying.

“Doton: Earthen Wall.” His palm hit the ground, creating a blockade for the torrent of wind and lightning that was sent back from the other boy’s technique reflecting it.While the barrier was being hammered by chakra, Sasuke created two shadow clones, switched places with one, and had it sink into the ground using Kakashi’s ‘Hiding Mole’ technique.The whole series was meant to confuse the Byakugan, which – like his own dōjutsu – couldn’t tell the difference between shadow clones and the genuine article.

“Hakke: Coruscating Stars!”Sasuke tensed when he heard that unknown technique, preparing for anything.

‘Anything’ turned out much more complicated than anticipated.Orbs of light scattered across the arena, surrounding Sasuke with dozens of absurdly bright dots that began pulsing rapidly the instant they settled into place.With every flash came a small bolt that looked very much like a Vacuum Palm, each firing on Sasuke’s position.He grit his teeth, squinted against the brightness, and spun into motion.

The subterranean clone dissipated the moment it surfaced, the result of a Mountain Crusher from Neji, who was simply standing outside of his technique and focusing.The second clone burst when it blocked a blast from reaching Sasuke.Judging by how those things were tearing up the ground, he most definitely did not want to get hit by one.He concentrated entirely on avoidance, once making the mistake of slashing at a sphere only to nearly be struck in the process.His sword swept straight through with no effect whatsoever.His eyes swept around constantly, making the world pass by deceptively slow and allowing him to blur around the ring without getting struck.But he couldn’t keep it up forever.

_This is nothing compared to Haku’s technique, but I can’t keep wasting time in here._ Neji’s lack of movement implied that focus was essential to maintaining this dangerous jutsu, which meant that he might not be expecting a counter-attack in the form of genjutsu.After all, who had the time to alter somebody else’s perception of reality while darting every which way?Sasuke wasn’t exactly the average genin.

He planned a vaulting roll precisely, coming up to leap and flip sideways, making certain that he was facing Neji in the process.Through the field of white lights he locked his eyes with Neji, initiating the Sharingan’s innate genjutsu.The effects were immediate.Every light flickered out at once as the Hyūga was forced to bring his hands together to break the genjutsu, but Sasuke didn’t stop with just one.He layered two more instances, knowing that Neji would notice them and break free immediately, but then followed them up with something a bit more . . . subtle.

“Doton: Earthen Spear!” he shouted in unison with Neji, the two projectiles meeting between them and shattering to pieces.Neji blinked, the first show of emotion since the beginning of the bout.He was surprised that Sasuke had copied the ability on the instant, which was precisely the intent.“Suiton: Water Blast!” Again Sasuke used the jutsu at the exact same time, the two colliding and cancelling one another out.

_Then the final step: unnerving._ Sasuke kept his features smooth as he used the Sharingan to carefully suggest the next jutsu, weaving a very minor genjutsu in along with it.To the spectators it would appear entirely different, but to Neji, it looked like Sasuke performed the impossible.

“Hakke: Mountain Crusher!” Neji called, extending a palm at the now illusory version of Sasuke.His eyes went wide when the ersatz copy uttered the same phrase, sending the ability back with identical force.Sasuke used the Body Flicker while his opponent was distracted, infusing an immense amount of chakra into his legs and bringing a hard roundhouse into the back of Neji’s head.The older boy careened forward, crashing into the ground and . . . dispersed into smoke, leaving an all-too-familiar log behind instead.

“That was . . . creative,” Neji panted from behind, the edge of a kunai digging into Sasuke’s throat.“You almost got me.”

“Almost?” Sasuke asked slyly, unable to keep the smirk from his lips.He settled a kunai beneath Neji’s chin, allowing the clone in front of him to go up in smoke.“You missed the final layer, I think.”Neji tensed, then snorted derisively.

“So I did.”He remained quiet for a moment, and Sasuke realized his mistake a split-second too late.He had assumed that Neji would give up after becoming so exhausted and being held at knife point.The determined Hyūga was spinning before he could react.

Sasuke hit the ground a dozen meters away and rolled for a few more before regaining his feet, wiping a bit of blood from the corner of his lips.He had checked on Neji’s chakra before going in that close, but it seemed that the other boy had become more efficient with that technique over the last few months.The rotation slowed and stopped, leaving them facing one another again, though Neji was breathing much harder now.The spectators seemed too confused to cheer, which was understandable; most regular people didn’t understand genjutsu even when it was explained to them, and it was an underutilized skill among shinobi.Appreciating it required a good amount of knowledge and practice.

“Not planning to give up, huh?” Sasuke sighed, reactivating the Resonance and allowing the current to run freely between the blades.He was pretty tired, but it seemed that he had forced Neji to use more chakra, relatively speaking.In response Neji dashed in, still deadly fast for how exhausted he must have been.Sasuke pretended to oblige, throwing one sword at the oncoming genin.It was deflected with a chakra-covered palm as expected, the distance breaking the resonating effect – temporarily.He jerked backwards and twitched the chain, bringing the blade flying towards Neji’s blind spot while striking with the other.The intent wasn’t to actually hit him, and the chain would give away that tactic anyway.Instead, when Neji whirled to kick the pseudo-projectile away while twisting to avoid the other end, Sasuke let the lightning technique go wild.

Neji became an unwilling conduit as the current scorched along the chain, completing the circuit as thick bands of electricity leapt from the tip of one blade and into him, coursing through faster than thought and connecting to the other.It was over in a literal flash.The crackle died, Neji collapsed, Sasuke caught his thrown sword, and Genma landed beside them to observe.The boy struggled to rise, his muscles spasming all the while.

“Damn you’re tenacious,” Sasuke complained, kneeling to offer a hand.Neji looked up, eyes a bit unfocused and frustrated.“Come on.Hinata wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if I beat you while you were down.”

“Your pride knows no bounds,” Neji growled, though there seemed to be a touch of dry humor in it.He reached up, clasping Sasuke’s hand and heaving himself upright.After one unsteady step he winced, sighed, and shook his head.“I used too much chakra trying to trap you, and then in attempting to counter five layers of genjutsu.I would only embarrass myself further if I continued.I admit defeat.”

“Hyūga Neji concedes the match.Uchiha Sasuke is the victor,” Genma proclaimed.Sasuke wove the signs and cancelled the amplification jutsu, earning him an annoyed glance from the proctor.

“That star thing you did was crazy.I thought Hinata was the only one making up new techniques based on the Hyūga style.I’ve never known you to use elemental jutsu before, either.”

“We have both been training hard,” was all Neji said in response, extending a fist in what might have been a begrudging sign of respect.“I look forward to watching Hinata-sama do what I could not.”

“Does that mean you don’t have a lot of faith in your teammates?” Sasuke smirked.Neji only considered a moment before offering a noncommittal shrug, turning to limp towards the door leading to the infirmary.Well, they both knew what the outcome of the next few matches would be, then.

“Are you alright?” Hinata asked as he arrived back in the spectating area.Lee was speaking in hushed tones with Tenten, and a glance with the Sharingan showed that he was confused as to why Neji had let Sasuke get behind him.It seemed the guy really was bad at recognizing genjutsu.

“Fine, just a little tired,” he muttered, opting to sit cross-legged beside Pakkun rather than remain standing at the railing.“I made the mistake of thinking Neji was rooted in his ways, and then got tricked into falling for that new jutsu of his.Have you seen that one before?”

“I helped him with it,” she admitted coyly.His flat look had no effect, as usual.“He developed the first one on his own.I think the intent was to create techniques that limited your use of the Sharingan, though it looks like he hasn’t figured out how to make the stars bright enough to blind an opponent yet.”

“Damn close. I still have black spots dancing in my vision.” Sasuke blinked several times and scowled at the pesky things.Any brighter and he might have gone blind trying to squint through that technique.

“The eleventh match is between Rock Lee and Temari of the Hidden Sand,” Genma announced, touching the ground with a few fingers at the same time.The hundreds of pockmarks from Neji’s technique smoothed over in a few seconds.It seemed they weren’t wasting any time between matches.

“Taijutsu specialists,” Temari grumbled, already departing for the ring.Lee slouched after her, no doubt unenthused about having to fight another girl.Sasuke couldn’t understand the mentality.Enemies were enemies.Gender simply didn’t factor into the equation when deciding who to fight and how.Tsunade was a prime example of how fallacious that line of thinking was.

“Four-to-one odds in favor of Lee, I think,” Tenten said, coming to lean on the rail beside Hinata.“Temari-san uses really strong wind techniques, but Lee’s gates will let him close pretty easily despite them.”

“She has to have practiced something to counter Lee,” Sasuke offered.“Not that his style is easy to counter by any means, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she did some taijutsu-focused training these last few days.”

“You think training for a few days is going to keep her from getting decimated by one punch?” she asked dryly, shaking her head.“I’m no pushover at taijutsu myself, but Lee can run circles around me on his worst days.My weapons mean nothing to him just like Temari-san’s wind will mean nothing, and that fan won’t do much against a fourth gate-empowered kick.”

“You mean you can’t beat Lee-senpai?” Hinata asked, blinking as if genuinely surprised.Sasuke kept his eyes in check to stop them from rolling.She really did think the best of everyone.Tenten was far from weak; he doubted anyone in the village could use weapons more effectively, and very few had mastered sealing techniques to the same degree.But like his Sharingan put him on a different level on its own, Lee’s gates made him an impossible opponent for most.

“I didn’t say that,” Tenten shrugged, causing Sasuke to raise an eyebrow despite himself.“I definitely can’t fight him directly with more than three gates opened, but being a shinobi isn’t always about direct confrontation.There are more ways than one to combat somebody who’s physically stronger and faster than you.”

“Kind of like Sakura,” he mused aloud.Alright, so maybe he was being too judgmental.And maybe Neji had a point about his pride.It was easy to forget in the face of an overwhelming display of strength that shinobi could be infinitely adaptable. _Don’t be overconfident, idiot._

“I’m sure Temari-san will put up a good fight.” Ever the optimist, Hinata leaned over the railing, eyes on the two now at the center but clearly not focused on them.Sasuke frowned.She was thinking about Naruto again.

“I’m just glad I get a bye.More time to rest and replenish chakra.Meanwhile, you get to fight Tenten _and_ Lee before the final round.Think they’ll let you rest at all beforehand?”

“Sasuke,” Hinata chided, though Tenten gave him a sour look and spoke before she could continue.

“Butt out, jerk.You just sit your pretty ass down and let us show you how real shinobi fight.Just be glad you didn’t get either of us in the first round, else you’d be crying in the infirmary right now.” Sasuke grinned, which she replied to with a sinister smirk of her own.It was all in good fun.Probably.

“Begin!” The call to start drew their attention to the floor, where Lee immediately activated the third gate and tore up huge chunks of dirt as he charged Temari.It didn’t seem like she was ready to go down easy, though.

“Kuchiyose: Blade Dance!” In a flash she had the fan open and was trailing a thumb across it, leaving behind a long smear of blood.Sasuke reactivated his Sharingan just to watch the events unfold in finer detail.A huge white weasel burst from the fan in a cloud of smoke, whirling towards Lee and wielding a sickle longer than its own oversized body.A smaller chakra-infused scythe spun in its wake, circling with what appeared to be a lantern alongside.It was an odd summon to say the least, but nothing to mock it seemed.

“Holy—!” The rest of Sasuke’s exclamation was lost in the typhoon winds whipped up on the instant.Lee was stopped in his tracks less than a meter from Temari, struggling against the gale and ultimately being defeated by it.He grunted, streaking into the far wall and causing a crack similar to the one from earlier in the day.This time, however, it seemed that he had been more prepared.

“Fourth Gate: Shōmon . . . Release!” A blue-green blur shot from the falling rubble so fast that the movement created incidental afterimages.The summoned creature went up in smoke.Temari was quick to retreat, but not quick enough.Her defense was incomplete, a simple round kick striking her folded fan with such force that the thick metal bent on impact.She rocketed backwards, hitting the ground and rebounding hard several times before righting herself, looking dazed.

“That’s just oppressive,” Sasuke sighed.He had come into the day with a strategy to beat Lee just in case Hinata lost, but he did not envy anyone who had to face that taijutsu.Knowing her, though, she would have concocted a good plan to fight against it, but he couldn’t help feeling bad that he was going to be resting while she fought two hard matches in a row.Well, he could do something to make it a little fairer.

“I concede,” Temari gasped following two more barely blocked blows.Her limbs were shaking from impacts that she had been unable to outpace.As expected, despite her prowess with wind techniques, Lee was able to avoid them with incredible speed or barrel through with raw power.It was a bad matchup to begin with, but she had held on a lot better than anyone had expected.The judges would likely see it as wisdom to admit defeat like Shikamaru had done.

“Temari of the Hidden Sand concedes the match.Rock Lee is the victor.” The crowd seemed to have regained some of their excitement from earlier, giving a rousing cheer at the impressive display.Some of the emptied seats had been refilled as well.“The twelfth match is between Hyūga Hinata and Tenten of the Hidden Leaf.”

“Nice job, Lee,” Tenten put in as he returned looking a bit more spent than before.That was one weakness of the gates, and had been part of Sasuke’s plan: outlast them.They caused a tremendous drain on one’s stamina, and even with practice could only be maintained for a certain amount of time.“Rest up.I doubt they’ll give you much time before you have to fight one of us.Ready to go, Hinata-chan?”

“I am if you are,” her friend replied, smiling all the while.

“Good luck to both of you,” Sasuke said, casually adding afterward, “but a tiny bit more to Hinata.”Nobody could fault him for supporting his teammate.The pair of kunoichi strolled down the tunnel together, chatting away like they weren’t about to have a technical fight to the death to determine their futures as shinobi.

“First Sakura-san, then Temari-san, and now I will have to fight one of them,” Lee muttered dismally after they were out of earshot.He looked so downtrodden about it that Sasuke couldn’t help but laugh.

“Tough luck I guess.But isn’t this where you’re supposed to say something like, ‘I’ll fight with the full power of youth!’ or something?”

“It is different,” he lamented.Sasuke shook his head.

“Lee, you realize it’s really insulting when you talk like that, right?” The other boy’s head snapped up, eyes wide with worry.

“Insulting?I did not mean to insult anyone.I just . . . I do not like having to fight girls.”Sasuke sighed.How to best explain this so that he would understand?

“Look, I get it.It’s a weird chivalry thing, right?Your wanting to protect them or whatever?”Lee nodded vigorously.“Well, regardless of your intent, by being so reluctant to fight them you’re basically insulting their ability as shinobi by implying they’re weaker than you.”Lee’s mouth worked for a response.He looked appalled, but Sasuke held up a hand to forestall a rebuttal.“I know that’s not how you mean it, but it’s all about perspective.You know they’re really strong, but just don’t want to hurt them.But you don’t have the same reservation with, say, me.You see how that might be taken as a bit demeaning?”

“I guess so . . .” He looked so distraught, even more so than when he had been about to fight Sakura.“My father always taught me that girls were precious and that as men we should protect them at all costs.”Sasuke blinked.He had never thought about the fact that Lee had parents, for some reason.With the eyebrows and all, he had just assumed that the odd genin was Gai’s son.“But I think I understand.I do not want to offend anyone, Sasuke-kun.”

“Good.Just fight as hard as you have been, but with uh . . . less visible apprehension, at least.I guarantee Hinata will not be going easy on you.”

“Do not count Tenten-san out yet.She is strong as well.”

_Now we’re getting somewhere,_ Sasuke chuckled to himself, igniting a flame in each palm and feeding a constant stream of chakra into each while maintaining the Sharingan.

“What are you doing?” Lee asked.Sasuke shrugged.

“I’m confident in my teammate, so if I assume she has to fight two tough matches before she gets to me, then I don’t want to have more chakra than her going into it.It wouldn’t be fair if I rested all that time, would it?”

* * *

“Aw man, I’ve been looking forward to this match all week!” Tenten sighed, bouncing a few paces away and pivoting to face Hinata squarely.  “Don’t think I’m not gonna try my best just because you’re stronger than me now!”

“Tenten-chan . . .” Hinata started, unable to keep her brow from furrowing.She didn’t like it when Tenten underestimated herself like that.Still, it was clear that the other girl wasn’t looking for chastisement or seeking compliments.“Neji-nīsan told me how hard you’ve been training.He didn’t reveal anything other than that,” she added quickly, though Tenten’s smirk implied that she knew that much.Neji wouldn’t betray his teammate like that.“But I’ve always considered you my superior.”

“Oh Hinata,” she cooed, shaking her head.“Your unceasing modesty would be aggravating if it wasn’t so sweet and genuine.I’m serious,” she continued when Hinata tried to interject.“I think you must have an objective side in there somewhere that’s been paying attention.How many times have we gotten together for training over the last year?All three of you have outpaced me in such a short time that it’s almost unbelievable.Even Neji’s fallen behind, and as much faith as I have in Lee, I have a feeling his next match might be his last.”

It was difficult working out a response to such praise, especially from a respected peer like Tenten.Hinata was no fool; she knew that all of the hard work Team Seven had put in was paying off.Spurred on by their bonds as friends and further by the realization that death could be around the corner for any of them, they had pushed themselves to the limit and beyond.To protect the village – to keep each other safe – they needed strength.As much as it pained to admit, this world was one in which the strong survived, but that meant they had the ability and responsibility to protect others.Tenten wasn’t detracting from her own worth, but rather expressing admiration for Hinata and her team.

“I see what you’re doing,” Hinata teased as Genma approached, glancing at both of them as if to ask, ‘You done yet?’She supplied an apologetic look, but wasn’t finished quite yet.“Trying to lull me into a false sense of security with compliments, are you?”Tenten guffawed, plucking two fat scrolls from a holster on her thigh and twirling them with a few fingers.

“You caught me!” she winked.“Good luck, Hinata.May the best kunoichi win!” Genma raised his arm, looking one way and then the other to make sure they were both prepared.Hinata settled into a balanced stance, activating her Byakugan.She would fight to the best of her abilities.Anything less would be a poor way to repay a friend who had given her so much over the years, from encouragement and advice to help with training, and everything between.

“Begin!”

“Sōgu: Consuming Heavens!” Tenten leapt backwards and threw the scrolls without a moment’s hesitation, hands flying through seals as she flew through the air.Hinata took an instant to assess, surprised that her friend had come so far as to activate this ability without lengthy preparation.Chakra conservation would be a major concern during this match.Tenten had trained for years specifically increasing chakra capacity as it suited her style, and as such had a great deal more than her – probably more than Sasuke, too.The choice between a rotation to deflect the onslaught of incoming weapons and a Body Flicker was easy to make.

“Hakke—” she started, appearing behind Tenten in a flash.Or at least, she had been intending to.The other girl had twisted and was already bringing a giant mace down on her location.Hinata was forced to turn it aside, using its weight to propel herself in the opposite direction.But Tenten was thinking two steps ahead.Makibishi were scattered in the area she moved towards, preventing easy movement for a split second, which was all the time her opponent needed to drop a handful of poison bombs and dash away.Hinata held her breath, using the Byakugan’s enhanced sight to watch as the next weapon came out. _Bow and arrow?_ That was a new one.The weapon looked a bit strange as the girl drew it from halfway across the arena, its string appearing to glow in a similar fashion to the arrow nocked against a stave as tall as she.As was always a safe bet against Tenten, one could assume that this weapon was nothing to be trifled with.She released the arrow.

The poison cloud was blasted away when the blue bolt sped through, and for safety’s sake Hinata twitched to the side at the last second rather than deflect it with a palm strike, which was no easy task.The projectile almost seemed to teleport for how rapidly it fired.Her choice had been correct.Chunks of rubble burst from the wall ten meters behind as the arrow struck and erupted with greater force than an exploding tag.And that was only the first.

Hinata sped forward, focus sharp on the oncoming arrows.The closer she came the more difficult it would be to avoid them, but staying at a distance played too much into the other girl’s tactics.She felt the wind whistle by from one passing over her right shoulder, and the heat from another singed the bandages on her left arm.Every step was calculated, every slight movement purposefully as minor as possible in order to conserve energy and close the distance as fast as possible.The expression Tenten was wearing was one of intense concentration, indicating that this would be difficult to keep up on the move.But it had all been a ploy.

At half a dozen meters Tenten released what would be her final shot, skipping backwards at the same time and tossing the bow stave away.Hinata twitched her head sideways to let it pass, but her eyes widened as she kept track of it through the Byakugan.It hissed and swelled, and with no time to react properly she jumped and pivoted, throwing both arms over her face as the chakra arrow detonated prematurely.The blast carried her backwards – right where Tenten was waiting with a pair of whirling nunchaku.Worse yet, the arrow hadn’t just burst.It had erupted into several smaller projectiles that were now speeding in pursuit.The whole series of maneuvers had been so artfully planned that Hinata would have stopped to goggle had this not been the middle of her own match.As it was, the situation needed responding to.

_Hakke: Ethereal Senbon._ Mid-backflip she fired off five senbon to meet the oncoming arrow shards, the effects cancelling one another out in a cluster of little explosions. _Hakke: Vacuum Palm._ At the tail end of the flip she used the force of the second technique to propel herself upward, arcing over Tenten’s head and firing a barrage of chakra needles downward.The girl’s nunchaku lit up with channeled chakra and whirled, scattering the oncoming senbon with minimal effort.

This fight was Hinata’s to pace now.She had countered Tenten’s plan and closed the instant her feet touched the ground again, bolting to begin the frenzied melee.Pinpricks of chakra from her palms or tips of fingers repelled the whirling nunchaku as she raced into the Sixty-Four Palms, forcing Tenten onto the defensive.Years of training with Neji had definitely taught her how to fight against jūken, however.

Hinata was forced to halt her technique yet again when a stream of purple mist billowed from Tenten’s mouth, rushing to obscure the surrounding area with more poison. _Hakke: Mountain Crusher._ She used the force to expel the gas while aiming the ability true.Blinded by her own deadly cloud, Tenten saw the oncoming technique and dodged too late, getting tossed from the ground and spiraling several times when the jutsu struck her shoulder.To her credit she still managed to land upright, but the injured arm now hung limply.

“Always sucks to get hit by a Mountain Crusher.Aptly named,” she ground out through clenched teeth, skipping backwards to put more distance between them.Hinata pursued, feeling bad for the harm done but knowing ‘mercy’ was out of the question for several obvious reasons.The nunchaku dropped as Tenten grasped the arm with the opposite hand and, without a hint of hesitation, wrenched it up and inward with an audible _pop._ “Whelp, time to go all out!” The waist-thick scroll hanging behind her belt came loose, and she gave it a hard kick while speeding through hand seals.

There was another important choice to make while the scroll began to unravel, exuding a chain of smoke clouds as more and more of the parchment was revealed.Hinata had next to no capability with fire release, so quickly burning the scroll was out of the question.Waiting to discover what came out would be foolish and had to be avoided if at all possible, but there were a few techniques that she absolutely could not use, or else she would be at a severe disadvantage in the final round should she get so far.She made the choice when the first few plumes began to fade around the glowing forms of levitating weapons – a pair of curved swords, a naginata, tonfa, and a massive ring sword, all either remotely controlled by Tenten or summoned in such a way that they automatically activated and began an autonomous assault.This needed to end before things got out of hand.

“Hakkeshō . . .” Hinata breathed as the weapons began speeding towards her, dropping into a low stance more than a dozen meters away from the other girl.She focused, concentrating chakra into the center of each palm.Tenten began sprinting in a wide arc, no doubt expecting another Mountain Crusher or the like.This technique was much, much faster, and infinitely more precise.She could feel the strain on her eyes as she picked out Tenten’s tenketsu and aimed true.“Heavenly Reach.”

The next few seconds passed in a blur of movement as Hinata danced, simultaneously avoiding the attacking weapons and launching nearly invisible pinpricks of chakra at Tenten.Her senses felt close to being overloaded.The majority of her concentration was on her opponent, calculating every movement and the necessary trajectory of each strike, but ignoring the danger of the deadly weapons was out of the question.She wove between them, spinning, bending, and deflecting with the barest possible actions while constantly tracking and attacking Tenten.It wasn’t something that could be kept up for long, but the Heavenly Reach was not something most could avoid reliably.

Tenten stumbled as the first unexpected attack struck, closing a tenketsu on her calf.She must have known or at least guessed at what was happening, but stopping it was another matter entirely.Three more closed in rapid succession, slowing her movements even more with hits on her ankle, side, and arm.It was obviously not something she had come prepared for, but the term ‘give up’ didn’t exist in her dictionary, Hinata knew.She kept up the onslaught, missing tenketsu a majority of the time but still doing minor damage where the tiny chakra bolts made impact.Tenten appeared to think quickly, racing through a recognizable set of seals and slapping the ground.

“Doton: Stone Prison!”The barrier sprung up, one last strike landing near her collarbone before Hinata lost clear vision.She could still see Tenten inside, but the current technique would have no effect.It gave her time to handle the weaponry, however.

_Suiton: Slicing Waves._ Hinata flipped back and over a horizontal sweep from the naginata, sending the sharpened edge of water into the still unfurling scroll and cutting it clean in half.The weapons promptly stopped spawning, the newest poleaxe falling to the ground, but the remainder continuing the assault.Tenten was preparing a handful of scrolls inside of the barrier, and this situation needed resolving before that happened. _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu._ The clone appeared and took her place engaging the weapons, but not before cupping both hands for the real Hinata to launch off of.

She leapt upwards, travelling a good distance above the field and surveying the interior of the Stone Prison.Tenten was sitting cross-legged inside, likely knowing that most of Hinata’s techniques lacked the power to break through.But breaking through was hardly a necessity.Earth and water were her elements.She dove straight for the ground, forming a few seals on the way down.

_Doton: Subterranean Voyage._ The hard earth turned liquid the moment her extended hands hit it, allowing her to pass through as if swimming through water.The Byakugan made it easy to keep track of the surface, and she guided the technique so that a few dolphin kicks had her directly beneath Tenten in seconds. _Doton: Decapitation._ She thrust both hands above the surface, grabbing the girl’s folded ankles and dragging them forcefully into the ground.Hinata was far from physically strong compared to her teammates, but infusing chakra into each arm compensated for the necessary brute force.Tenten submerged to her neck in an instant, and Hinata broke through the surface and into the blackness of the dome.

“Shit – watch out!” Tenten coughed, wincing.Hinata had only an instant to figure out what the girl was concerned about before the scrolls that had been surrounding Tenten erupted in a shower of kunai.That was hardly the real concern despite the difficulty of deflecting all of them in such a confined space.Half of their number had exploding tags attached.

“Shugohakke: Sixty-Four Palms!” She stood over Tenten, arms moving like lightning to turn aside every projectile.There were too many to deflect individually, so she instead had to angle some so that they chained into others, a few times purposefully allowing one to graze her instead of risking Tenten being hit while completely vulnerable.The initial flurry ended in seconds, but the tags lit up the space as they swelled, about to explode.“Suiton: Solid Globe!”Time felt far too slow as water rushed from Hinata’s mouth, flowing first around Tenten’s exposed head before rushing to surround her as well in the densest water that chakra would allow. _Make it in time!_

The arena trembled as the exploding tags decimated the Stone Prison and a significant area surrounding it, creating a wide trench in a rough circle around the two kunoichi.Hinata breathed a deep sigh of relief from within the sphere of water, bubbles escaping and drifting to the upper surface.She released the jutsu as soon as it was clear that all of the tags had gone off, stepping back and blinking at the sudden harshness of sunlight.Smoke from the explosions was clearing rapidly in the cold wind, and without the water or earthen barrier she could now hear the crowd’s roaring approval.They certainly seemed to have gotten their excitement back.

“Gods, Hinata,” Tenten panted, spitting out water in the process of trying to laugh and struggling to budge from her position.“I seriously didn’t mean for that to happen.I thought you’d try to break through after dealing with my chakra weapons, not come from below.”

“Are you okay?” Hinata asked worriedly, looking over her friend to check for injuries.Tenten rolled her eyes, tried to move again, and gave it up.

“I’m fine thanks to you, but also thanks to you I can’t even twitch a toe.Even if I could, though, you got me good with that crazy Reach thing.I lose, Hinata-chan.”

“Tenten of the Hidden Leaf concedes the match.Hyūga Hinata is the victor.”The spectators erupted into cheers and applause, a particularly enthusiastic section of Hyūgas leading the pack.

“I'll get her out,” Genma inserted before Hinata could reverse the technique holding Tenten captive.“You have another match coming up and should conserve your chakra.”

“Thank you Genma-sensei,” Tenten said as the ground swelled and pushed her upward, a wide crack forming in order to free her limbs for the ascent.Hinata smiled and bowed, but her friend wasn't having any of that.The other girl stepped forward and gave a tight hug, murmuring into her ear now that the voice-amplifying jutsu was gone.“You're an amazing kunoichi, Hinata-chan.Thank you.”

“One day I hope to be as amazing as you.” Hinata knew that she wouldn't take that the wrong way.It wasn't meant to be patronizing or teasing in any way, but honest.Ever since they had first met, Hinata had been inspired by the older girl.Where Naruto and Sasuke had helped build her confidence and self-worth over the years, Tenten had more recently become somebody who she aspired to be like.A kunoichi who was always sure of herself, who never let anyone tell her what she could and could not do, who was as strong as she was kind, and who always followed her own ninja way.Hinata was certain that if she always strove to be like that, then she could always stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her teammates.

As Tenten smiled and limped away, Genma fixed the ground and once again addressed the crowd.“Due to the unexpected bracket changes, we will be having a ten minute intermission before the next match.Following the semifinal we will have the scheduled fifteen minute break before the final round.Thank you for your patience.”Surprisingly, not a single voice in the crowd expressed protest at the unanticipated delay, at least not that Hinata heard on her way back to the spectating area.It was likely that they didn't mind her being allowed to rest between this and the next fight, as she would have been able to normally had Naruto still been in the running.Sasuke's bye would give him an inordinate amount of rest before the last fight of the day . . . or so she had thought.

“Sasuke . . . what are you doing?” she asked as soon as she spotted him sitting at the railing. Activating the Byakugan for the span of a blink showed her everything that needed to be known, however.“You're supposed to be resting, not depleting your chakra on purpose.”

“What would you say your capacity's at right now?Fifty, sixty percent?” he asked, ignoring her question.She frowned.

“Near there.But Sasuke, the purpose of the exam is to—”

“Fuck the purpose,” he scoffed, shaking his head and making a half meter of fire spiral and then fall into the form of a dog chasing its own tail.He was remarkably good at shape transformation.She frowned slightly at his choice of words, though predictably the expression garnered no response.“You just used a good amount of chakra fighting Tenten and have to fight this guy before you get to me in the final round.No offense, Lee,” he added after jabbing a thumb in the other boy's direction.

“None taken, Sasuke-kun.You are only confident in your teammate, as you should be.You fought very well, Hinata-san.I did not know that a Hyūga could use that technique in such a way.”

“Thank you, Lee-senpai,” she got in before Sasuke continued.

“Anyway, don't pretend you wouldn't do the exact same thing if our positions were reversed.I'm not going to drain my chakra below yours, but I'm going to have about the same amount relative to my capacity when we fight, and your worrying about it isn't going to change my mind.”Hinata couldn't help but smile, able to do nothing else but nod and accept what her friend was doing.Even though the way he decided to put it came off as aloof and confrontational, she knew Sasuke better than that, and he was right: she would have done the same thing in all likelihood.Admonishing him for that wouldn't be fair.

“No wonder Sakura-san likes you so much.There's a soft side in there no matter how deep you try to bury it,” she teased, lowering down beside him and Pakkun.As usual, he ignored the quip.

“What happened inside of that barrier?Your voices were muffled, so all we heard was Tenten yell something, a bunch of clattering, and then that explosion.When the dust cleared you were just wet and bleeding a bit, and the match was over.”

“Bleeding?” She blinked, glancing at herself and noticing the shallow cuts left behind by the narrowly-deflected kunai.There were several on her legs, a few on her arms, and a handful around her torso and back that she was only now beginning to feel.

“Medical ninjutsu takes a lot of chakra,” Sasuke shrugged, letting his current practice technique die and shifting to face her.“Kill two birds with one stone.”

“Sasuke, I can—”

“Don't make me use the 'if our positions were reversed' line twice in five minutes,” he interjected, extending a hand palm-up and looking at her expectantly.“My healing is crap compared to yours, but I can at least speed up clotting and reduce the stinging a bit.”

“Thank you,” she sighed, complying and handing over her left arm first.She could have just bandaged them and been done with it, but arguing with Sasuke was often less productive than talking to a stone.He always thought he was right, though often that came from a place of kindness and concern more than anywhere else.

In short order he was through with the painless process, having closed the shallowest wounds and mended the others enough for her not to have to think about them.He left one long cut beneath her breasts untended for obvious reasons, something she took care of on her own with a simple lining of dry poultice and cloth bandage.It was a marvel that it hadn't been deeper, but then that was what chain mail was for.Oftentimes kunai were sharpened like razors and could slice through bone as easily as soft clay, but the metal links were meant as a first layer of defense against such dangers when a shinobi slipped up.

“Huh.You did that with just two techniques?” Sasuke remarked after she finished summarizing what had happened after she and Tenten had gone out of sight.He almost sounded skeptical.“I'm pretty sure I would have been turned into a roasted pincushion if I had been caught like that.The match was pretty wild in any case; I didn't know Tenten could fight like that.”

“You would have countered it somehow, but I don't think you would have done what I did since you wouldn't have been able to see inside.” He considered that a moment before nodding.He most likely would have destroyed the Stone Prison somehow, or enveloped it with fire to create a makeshift oven, effectively forcing Tenten to flee.“Gai-sensei has been pushing them to hone individual fighting styles for over a year now in preparation for the last two sets of exams.You saw how hard Neji-nīsan has been practicing with ninjutsu, and I’m sure Lee-senpai has been pushing himself to open more gates for longer periods.”

“Yosh!” Lee exclaimed, punching his fist into the opposite open palm.“I will not hold anything back in our fight, Hinata-san.I wish to fight you with the full power of my youth!”

“I’m looking forward to our fight too, Lee-senpai,” she smiled.The fact that he was already determined to go all out caused a small amount of anxiety if she were to be honest.Lee’s movements were already close to inhuman at the fourth gate, and her Byakugan keeping track of him would only go so far when her physical speed fell behind.Not holding anything back surely meant a sustained fifth gate if not beyond, and at that point no amount of natural speed would keep up.One strike would spell the end of the match, too.Hiruzen had helped her prepare one possible countermeasure, but losing was a distinct possibility if it were to fail.

“The thirteenth match is between Hyūga Hinata and Rock Lee,” Genma called from below, prompting a boom of activity from the stands.Hinata took a deep breath and stood.There wasn’t time to worry, and there most certainly wasn’t room to keep techniques hidden.A small amount of chakra had been replenished during the short respite, and she had a feeling that most of it would be depleted before long.It could end up being a battle whose deciding factor would be who ran out of chakra first, though in Lee’s case it could be a timer on physical deterioration.The Eight Inner Gates taxed the body to its limit, and while that limit could be expanded through exposure and training, it was still very real and very dangerous to the user.

“Good luck,” Sasuke said, standing after her and extending a fist.Lee was already trotting off down the tunnel.“Don’t take any unnecessary risks.You saw what four gates did to Temari’s fan, and that thing’s made out of titanium alloy.I read her lips once,” he added when she raised an eyebrow to question how he knew that.“Use all of your chakra if you have to.I’ll make sure to keep it even.”He smirked, and she gave a grateful smile in response before touching her knuckles to his.All of that was just Sasuke’s way of saying ‘be safe.’

The walk down to the ground floor felt longer than before as she prepared herself for the strategy to counter Lee.She anticipated that he would go straight to the fourth gate in the interest of time.He had to be feeling some level of strain already, which meant that maintaining the gates for much longer than a few minutes would be out of the question.She estimated three minutes, a short and intense fight that would test her ability to handle high level taijutsu to its limit.

“You both ready?” Genma asked as Hinata arrived and clasped both hands behind her back, stretching.

“One moment, sensei,” Lee said, kneeling to remove his leg warmers one at a time to reveal the ring of weights wrapped above each ankle.Hinata had been afraid of that.He already moved so fast that it had been hard to keep track; they had assumed that Lee had come into the day without them on, but it seemed that he had only adapted better to the added weight.But Team Seven hadn’t been slacking off with their taijutsu training either.

As Lee tossed the weights towards the edge of the arena – creating a pair of small craters and a dust cloud – Hinata reached for the narrow accent belt hanging at her waist, unbuckling it.Sasuke had convinced her in a roundabout way that holding anything back for this match would be foolish.The techniques she intended to use against her teammate wouldn’t be useful here at any rate.She slung the belt after Lee’s leg weights, wincing as it struck the wall and caused a few small cracks to splinter before falling to the ground with a loud thud, breaking up a bit of stone in the process.Genma raised an eyebrow, and the crowd quieted.

“Done now?” he asked, bringing his hands together to project their voices to the whole arena.That was a bit embarrassing, especially considering that she wasn’t ready yet.

“Sorry, Genma-sensei.Almost.”She hadn’t planned to do this unless absolutely necessary, but Lee wouldn’t allow her time during the match itself.It took some effort not to blush while undoing the reinforced clasp on the side of her skirt, carefully unzipping it while holding fast with the other hand to keep it from plummeting.The capris underneath covered her completely, of course, but it was hard not to feel exposed without the skirt on as well.Nevertheless she stepped out of it, using both hands to grip the hem and heave it after the other heavy articles.It hit the ground a bit short of the others, making its own indentation to match.The two pieces together didn’t nearly equal his, but ridding herself of an extra few dozen kilos would go a ways in cancelling out his increase in speed.She bounced on her toes several times, acclimating to the difference before settling into a defensive jūken stance.“Ready.”

“Alright,” Genma started again, glancing at Lee, who nodded and set himself into an aggressive gōken stance.Hinata mused over the matchup for only a moment, about pitting the Gentle Fist against Lee and Gai’s unique Hard Fist style.Theirs packed devastating power when coupled with the Eight Gates, but hers was all about precise movements and fine chakra control that could cause immense harm in different ways.At the very least, the onlookers would get to witness quite the spectacle – if they were able to keep up.

“Begin!”

“Fourth Gate: Shōmon . . . Release!” A green haze erupted around Lee, his skin turning a muddy red as the Gate of Life forcibly increased blood flow simultaneously with the increased power from the Gate of Pain.One instant he was standing like a cat ready to pounce, and the next his fist was grazing the side of Hinata’s head.Only reflex had saved her from the blow, and that near miss was only the first of many as they tore into motion.

It was an absolute frenzy.Sasuke’s description of Lee’s taijutsu as ‘oppressive’ had been far too accurate.Hinata couldn’t keep up even lightened as she was, but that was to be expected.Her lifelong training had been more rounded, focusing on all three methods of combat whereas Lee had only been able to train for one.But that singular focus had paid off.

Her limbs became blurs to her own eyes as she tried to create any amount of distance, but Lee refused to let up, a bolt of lightning chasing the wind.His punches could have pulverized boulders, his kicks carrying enough power to decimate whole buildings.In fact, when Hinata executed a rapid succession of feints and back handsprings to gain some breathing room, she wound up next to the wall with Lee arriving in less time than it took to blink, his right leg nothing but a streak of color.

“Konoha Senpū!” he roared.Hinata bent backwards so fast that she thought her spine might snap, the friction from the kick heating the air enough so that she felt it rushing past centimeters from her torso.Her reaction time wasn’t enough to fully avoid taking damage, however.The momentum carried Lee into the wall, the concrete exploding as a shockwave shook the whole arena.In her compromised position, Hinata could see but wasn’t able to move in time to avoid the blast of debris, several large chunks pummeling her towards the center of the floor while smaller shards battered her limbs.There wasn’t time to agonize, however.The blow had created a huge plume of dust and a brief moment that could not be wasted.

“Kekkai: Indomitable Guardian!” she gasped, ignoring the blood dripping down the side of her head and the bruised set of ribs along her left side.The myriad of cuts and scrapes elsewhere were an afterthought.Getting caught in just the blowback from one of his kicks had caused this much damage; taking a direct hit could actually kill her.Under the shroud of debris she formed the proper seals while still tumbling across the arena, skidding to a halt only to slam both shaking palms into dirt to activate the technique.A solid barrier sprang up around her, and she pushed it as far as possible, pouring chakra into the pale blue shield like her life depended on it.It thickened rapidly, shape warping into the head of a giant monkey, a testament to the man who had taught it to her.It became opaque, disallowing vision from either side, a drawback countered by her Hyūga heritage.

Lee’s fist struck the barrier a breath after it materialized fully, sending a ripple throughout but failing to penetrate.Hinata could barely see him moving through the surrounding haze, and the shield continued taking hits as the boy tried to break through from different sides.He was travelling so fast that it seemed like the blows were coming simultaneously from every direction.But it held.

“Suiton: Soothing Mist,” she breathed, exhaling the fine droplets in a small sphere around herself.She wasted no time touching a hand to her head, hurrying to heal the wound that was beginning to make her feel dizzy.The mist would help close the smaller injuries that there was no time to heal manually.Seconds passed, and then the pounding on the barrier ceased for a moment.That could only mean one thing.

“Fifth Gate,” Lee’s voice resonated from nearby, causing Hinata to tense.“Tomon . . . Release!”The corresponding explosion of energy expulsed the remaining cover of dust, kicking up more in the process as it sent the top layer of soil and rock scattering to the edges of the arena.The shockwave alone caused little dust devils to kick up and race around them, persisting even after the initial blast subsided.Lee stood at the center of the cataclysmic effect, veins bulging in his arms, shoulders, and temples.His teeth were clenched and bared, proving the immense stress and pain that his body was undergoing during the transformation.Most frightening were his eyes, blank white circles focused solely on her, looking all too similar to Naruto’s when Kurama took control in the chakra state.

He practically disappeared, fist connecting with the barrier with such force that Hinata stumbled even within its confines.It cracked, and she dropped the healing techniques.These next few moments would be the last if she could survive them.

_Hakke: Seven Moon Spear._ The gleaming white weapon elongated before her, its tip circled with the colored orbs representing the seven elements.It leveled at the point Lee had just struck and hovered there, waiting.Another punch caused the entire shield to fracture like glass.She took a deep breath, drew back her palm, and concentrated on tracking Lee.He was a living whirlwind, barely detectable, but he was the one racing against time.There was only one place he could land the next blow in order to guarantee the barrier’s failing. _Don’t act prematurely.Wait._ _Trust yourself._ This would come down to instinct, catching the barest flicker, the slightest change in movement indicating when he would come and hoping she was fast enough. _Wait . . . Wait . . . Mountain Crusher!_

It was times like these that Hinata wished she possessed a Sharingan, if only to see things happen in finer detail.Her jutsu sent the spear into the barrier the instant Lee’s third blow landed, and any normal shinobi would have been unable to react fast enough.But Lee was no normal shinobi.In the fraction of a second – no, the _fraction of a fraction_ of a second between the barrier failing and the spear colliding, his hands moved faster than any Body Flicker, latching onto the shaft and stopping it cold.No doubt even Sasuke would have had a hard time seeing it in time.There wasn’t time to stand there and stare, however; the force of her blow and the risk of being struck by the concentrated technique was enough to keep Lee stationary for a split second, which was all that Hinata needed.

“Hakke: Sixty-Four Palms!” Shutting down the tenketsu directing his chakra flow was imperative, but until now she had been entirely on the defensive and unable to attempt a single strike.In the instant that Lee ground to a halt and strained against the Seven Moon Spear, Hinata swung into motion, getting off eight consecutive strikes before he had a chance to react.

“Yosh!” Lee roared, staggering slightly.From what she could make out of his expression, he looked ecstatic, though still in a tremendous amount of pain.“ _This is the springtime of youth!_ ” With a colossal effort he threw the spear to one side, redirecting it a few dozen meters behind.Hinata sprang away at the same time, anticipating the aftermath that he likely did not.She hoped the onlookers didn’t get hurt.

The spear point struck the ground, and then her vision went completely white for a few seconds.Gasps, yells, and screams from the crowd were drowned out by the detonation as a pillar of light ripped into the sky.It was only a few meters across, but the cement liquefied instantly where its very edge touched the wall, a testament to the amount of chakra she had kneaded into the tip.It wasn’t exactly an explosive or collateral technique, but it wasn’t meant to be.Hinata was all about precision, and anything or anyone hit by that would regret the mistake if they lived to do so.The only reason she had opted to use such a devastating jutsu was due to her confidence in Lee’s ability to survive it.The fact that he had managed to deflect it instead had honestly come as a shock.It only served to prove the power of the Eight Gates.

Lee stopped gawking at the blast quickly enough, snapping out of the momentary awe to blaze towards Hinata once again.She was tired from the chakra expenditure, but there was one thing to bolster her spirits: he was moving more slowly.A glance showed that her few empowered strikes had been aimed true, closing off several tenketsu between his diaphragm and sternum and effectively blocking the flow of chakra to the fifth gate.She had been too hasty in the attack and had failed to close any more essential points, but this was enough.

The subsequent melee was intense nonetheless, with Hinata forced onto the defensive once again and barely managing to avoid most of the strikes.Her breathing was nearly as labored as his.Lee’s destructive blows came increasingly close to landing, to the point that eventually they began clipping no matter how hard she pushed, no matter how much speed she tried to muster.She knew her limits, and his fourth gate exceeded them by a decent margin.When a simple yet absurdly fast hook feinted into a round kick, there was no choice but to throw up both arms and take the hit, the only action prompt enough to counter it being the release of chakra from every tenketsu in her forearms.It helped, but not enough.

Hinata hit the nearest wall hard, the impact forming a small impression and knocking the wind out of her despite the preparation.Her feet hit the ground a moment later, and it was a struggle to stay upright.It felt like every bone in her arms, chest, and back was bruised or broken.Her chakra was dangerously low.The only solace was that Lee was still standing where he had been, a bit slouched and sucking in ragged breaths.His skin was back to normal, which mean that he had dropped below the third gate in order to stay in the fight, though just barely by the looks of it.They were both battered in their own ways, though who was worse off would be decided by the next and undoubtedly last engagement.

There was a choice to make now as Hinata tried settle on legs that felt like jelly, lifting shaking arms that might have been made of lead.Conceding was out of the question.What would Sasuke and Naruto think if she quit after coming so far?Even now she could see his eyes, somehow kind and always so certain despite everything, always encouraging.No, this was her fight to win, even if it meant taking this kind of risk.

“Hinata-san,” Lee gasped, extending a hand to forestall as she lifted a soldier pill to her mouth.His eyes were back to normal now, filled with concern.“Your chakra must be . . . must be very low like mine is.It could be dangerous to take that.”

“Someone once told me that nothing worth doing should be easy,” she said between short breaths, managing a small smile.“I’ll have enough in me for one more clash, Lee-senpai.I plan to fight with everything I have left.”She took the pill between her lips, waiting for his response.For a while he merely watched, considering and most likely fretting.Very slowly, however, his features became more set, more determined, and a broad grin spread across his tired face.He reached into his own belt pouch, lifting a small black pill to match as if in a toast.

“To youth!” he exclaimed, flicking it into the air and catching it in his mouth.The reddish hue returned immediately, followed closely by a green aura and the blank white eyes, chakra visible to the naked eye spiraling around him.The increased vascularity implied that the fourth gate had been forced open as well, but she could already see as much from looking inward at his chakra circulatory system.

“To youth,” Hinata agreed, taking the pill between her teeth and drawing a deep, calming breath.She set herself, and then bit down.

Chakra surged, aches and pains dulled to mere background nuisances, and her limbs regained their full stability and strength.The revitalization was exhilarating, but not to be wasted.A soldier pill’s true purpose was to provide the _physical_ energy to fight for days on end.The chakra boost it gave by spurring natural processes was not continual, and therein the danger lay.A person could feel energized all the way until their chakra ran out, at which point they would faint and potentially die from the exhaustion.It was a delicate balance, but one Hinata knew she could manage.

They moved simultaneously, her feet barely touching the ground as she flew forward, his every step tearing up chunks of earth as he rushed in.The dichotomy would have been humorous if not for the serious tone.If this was to be their final encounter, then Hinata was not about to sit back and play a game of avoidance.She had promised Lee a real fight with that last statement, and he would get one.

“Hakke: Sixty-Four Palms!” This time she was ready to go through with the whole technique.Lee’s fist grazed her cheek, air pressure trying to knock her off course on its own, but she persisted, going all-out on offense and for the first time forcing him to guard.She pushed herself for more speed, unable to trace her own movements and allowing them to go on intuition and reflex alone.When Lee turned a flickered sidestep into a spinning kick, Hinata employed her last defense, forcing a massive amount of chakra through a single tenketsu where his heel blurred towards.She blunted it, concentrated it to the finest point, and then lunged forward to complete the set of thirty-two strikes.Lee’s heel stopped a hair’s breadth from her side, quavering before getting thrown away and taking its owner on an uncontrolled spin from the repelling force.

_Sixty-four strikes._ Lee recovered from the blowback in a flash, but she was upon him in a frenzy, speeding to outpace him, racing to close the most important tenketsu first.His chakra was fizzling, the released gates consuming far too much, but his doggedness refused to allow defeat.He lurched forward amid the flurry of blows, ignoring them to draw back and thrust a straight punch directly in her path.There was no changing direction now.His reach was greater, but there was a way.She just had to be fast enough.She had to break through her own limitations.

_Heavenly Reach!_

The arena had been largely quiet during the majority of the bout, but now a silence had fallen so completely that a pin drop wouldn’t go unheard.Hinata stood facing Lee, left palm resting on his extended forearm, the knuckles of which hovered a centimeter from her nose.The index and middle fingers of her right hand were fully extended, pointing at the left side of his head – directly at the Gate of Opening.The green aura had faded, the excess chakra dissipated, and every gate closed.His eyes were still white, but only because they had rolled up with the fleeing of his consciousness.The stress on his body had been too great when combined with the jarring shut down of chakra flow from the tenketsu’s closing.His arm fell, and so did he.

“The victor . . .” Genma began hesitantly, alighting on an overturned slab of rock.Hinata tried to straighten, but only ended up slumping to her knees, vision going a bit blurry.She grit her teeth, squeezing both eyes shut.It hurt.Every part of her was in pain, and the sliver of chakra remaining threatened to be whisked away by her Byakugan.She let the dōjutsu fade, the pounding in the back of her head a testament to its overuse.

“I’m . . . I’m okay,” she got out shakily, though was unable to move to prove as much.The jōnin grunted, continuing with the proper announcement.

“Rock Lee is unable to continue.Hyūga Hinata is the victor.Hurry up,” he said after, prompting Hinata’s eyelids to flutter open a moment.He had forgotten to cancel the jutsu affecting his voice beforehand.Two teams of medic-nin were rushing over from a destroyed doorway.“Take her up to the spectating area,” he said quietly to the second pair, the first already rushing Lee away.“I’m going to speak to the Hokage about getting an extension on the final; no one came here to see the Uchiha kid declared the winner by default.Do as much as you can for her condition as quickly as possible.”That was certainly an interesting way to put it, but Hinata was in no state to argue with the logic.There was no way that she could put up any kind of fight against Sasuke after that, not after only fifteen minutes.

“Just lie back and rest,” a woman with a kind, warm smile said, and Hinata found herself lying on a stretcher before she knew it.She gave a dull nod, already succumbing to the extreme fatigue, but not before mustering the ghost of a smile.

_I think Naruto would be proud . . ._

* * *

Sasuke let out a long breath between his teeth, the soft whistle releasing the tension that had gripped him during the entirety of the fight.  It had lasted mere minutes, but what an unbelievable few minutes it had been.  Hinata had gone in with the full knowledge that Lee was faster and stronger than her, and that distancing or taking any time for ninjutsu would be impossible.  She had held on by a thread, overcoming that monstrous power with otherworldly precision and the deftest maneuvering.  In truth he had been flabbergasted at her ability to trace Lee’s movements without a Sharingan.

_I guess that’s the balancing factor between us,_ he mused, watching as his teammate was lifted and began moving towards the entrance tunnel. _Her ridiculous speed and flexibility can match what my Sharingan and slower pace accomplish._ That last sequence of moves had been the most incredible to witness.Without the Byakugan he was unable to see the specific tenketsu she had activated, but he knew well enough from watching the flow of chakra that she had blocked Lee’s kick with pure chakra control, like a pinpoint blast of compressed air.Even knowing that Hyūga were capable of releasing energy from any tenketsu on their body wasn’t enough to keep him from being impressed.That kind of control was difficult for anyone to get from the natural openings in their hands and feet, let alone from an isolated point on the torso.

The crowd finally found its voice when Hinata was being toted off, and what a deafening voice it was.Disbelieving silence had gone to thunderous applause like the flip of a switch.Everyone was on their feet – even Tsunade and the foreign dignitaries.People were hanging over the railings and roaring approval for both genin; Sasuke heard just as many chants of ‘Rock Lee!’ as he did ‘Hyūga Hinata!’A real smile pulled the corners of his lips up against his will, but it could be left for a bit. _That’s my friend right there._

“She alright?” he asked as soon as the medic-nin arrived, settling Hinata into a corner.They waved him away when he tried to approach, but one answered kindly enough.

“She’s pretty banged up; multiple fractures, a major artery burst, more bruises than I’d care to catalog, and I’d wager she has enough chakra left to fill a teaspoon.I hope they give us more time to fix her up, else the final match won’t be very exciting.”Sasuke frowned at the man who spoke, but didn’t bother him or the woman further, deciding it was better to just let them work.Before concern about the next fight could weigh too heavily, Genma flickered back into sight at the center of the arena, surrounded by chūnin who were busily trying to clean up the wreckage.

“By unanimous consent, the judges have agreed to allot extra time for the contestants’ recovery before the final.The match between Hyūga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke will take place in one hour’s time.”Now Sasuke didn’t bother hiding a smirk.Genma went on to announce that there would be free concessions provided to all spectators for the inconvenience, but nobody seemed to care.Everyone cheered in approval, and before long the whole stadium was buzzing with excited conversation as people began milling about.

“Damn impressive fight,” Tsunade mused, landing beside Sasuke to look over Hinata.“I’ve never seen a genin with such fine chakra control – hell, most jōnin couldn’t do what she just did.”

“Yeah, she makes me and Naruto look like chumps,” he shrugged.“Do you think an hour will be enough time?”It was her turn to shrug, but she pushed back the sleeves of her fresh haori and shooed the two medic-nin aside at the same time.

“I’m not the only one who wants to see her fight you on even terms, kid.One hour will be more than enough if I have anything to say about it.People will be talking about this match for years to come.”Her hands lit up with warm green light, enveloping Hinata in the same glow.Even as Sasuke watched the visible injuries began closing at a remarkable pace.He nodded, retreating to the rail and sitting back beside Pakkun.

“Still planning to drain your chakra away?” the ninken asked with obvious snark.Sasuke snorted, clasping both hands into a ram seal and concentrating on rebuilding chakra reserves instead.It could be spent later if necessary.He had a feeling that, with Tsunade handling the healing, he would need all of the chakra he could get.

_Wish you were here to cheer us on, Naruto – even if you’d probably cheer harder for her._ He closed his eyes, smirking still.Naruto would obviously be happy that both of them made it to the final round, but who could blame a guy for supporting his girlfriend just a tiny bit more?Sasuke had to wonder who would really be fighting Hinata in the final round had it not been for . . .

_Can’t think about Naruto.Focus._ It was difficult, but this was the one match he could not afford to be distracted for.He had fought Hinata too many times to count over the years, but rarely going all out and never with hidden techniques to worry about.This would doubtless be a battle of dōjutsu, pitting visual prowess against visual prowess, mixing in as many surprises as possible to catch each other off guard.Sasuke knew Hinata’s style almost as well as his own, and the reverse most certainly held true.There would be no underestimating, no room for error, no quarter.

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks. I know, I know – cliffhangers, right?
> 
> First off: an apology for taking so long to come off of my hiatus. I had to take some extra time to finish my book manuscript, which ended up being about 2/3 the length of CFKD as a whole. I got it done near the beginning of March, at which point I took a month off of writing to get my head back together, and then started on this chapter in early April. I plan to go through and edit the manuscript over the next month or so, and then work on the final installment of Chūnin Exams: Round Two.
> 
> Thank you for all of the supportive messages and reviews over the last ~6 months. Even something as simple as “When’s the next chapter coming out?” let me know that people were invested and excited for the story. Every follow and favorite was a hint of that as well, reminding me that I made a commitment to continue on and finish one day. No matter where life takes me, I’ll be sure CFKD comes into its own resolution in due time. Promise!
> 
> I welcome any feedback and/or constructive critiques of this chapter, mainly because it was a trial in power balancing for me. I have my own power growth spreadsheet (ask Rhi; it’s glorious) and have been keeping Team Seven’s relative strengths and weaknesses in check with a list similar to the data book entries, only modified with a few other important parameters and obviously adjusted for the AU. In the same vein, I wanted to keep in mind that the others are growing in strength in their own ways, all while trying hard not to cross the line into ‘overpowered’ territory. The perspective I like to keep while writing fights is this: they’re young, and many are ~chūnin level at this point if not a bit more, and as such everything’s written from that point of view. A high level jōnin like Tsunade or Kakashi might watch the same fights and be impressed, but would perceive it differently, using terms like ‘extremely fast’ instead of ‘like lightning.’ That make sense? I hope so.
> 
> Okay, enough rambling. It’s been a while, so I had a lot to say. You can PM me if you want the extra paragraphs. =p
> 
> A big thanks as always to Rhi for her editing prowess and patience (and honestly for just being there at all for three years now). Thank you all again for reading and everything else, and as usual . . .
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> \- Wes


	34. Changes

 Waking up more than once in a single day always caused some small amount of disconcertion, and this time was no exception.Hinata knew immediately where she was thanks to the constant rumble of the crowd, but remembering many other details proved difficult.She recalled the fight with Lee, emerging barely victorious, and then warmth. _Warmth?_

“Finally awake?” Sasuke asked from nearby, prompting her to ease both eyes open at last.They didn’t feel heavy as she had expected.His features came into focus above her, lips pulled into a slight smirk, those dark eyes amused.“How do you feel?”

“Surprisingly good,” she murmured, sitting up slowly and glancing back to where her head had been lying.A cloak lay bundled there, having served as a makeshift pillow during her rest.A second glance at Sasuke showed that his was missing.She smiled.“Thank you, Sasuke.How long have I been unconscious?”

“A little less than an hour.Genma just announced that our match will start in ten minutes, so you’ve got a little time to get oriented.Here,” he added, extending a small paper-wrapped package to her.“I asked Pakkun to get us some omusubi.I know you’re not a huge fan of seafood, so this one’s apricot-filled.”

“Thank you,” she said again, returning his cloak and receiving the rice ball.“And thank you for getting it for us, Pakkun-san.”She inclined her head to the ninken sitting nearby, who nodded without reply.It was an effort not to imagine how he had carried it to them, but hopefully it had been in a bag of some sort instead of directly in his mouth.The wrapper didn’t feel slobbery, at least.“You’d better be careful, or else people might start thinking you’re thoughtful,” she teased before beginning to eat.It tasted wonderful, especially after expending so much energy fighting Lee.

“Blame Haku,” Sasuke grimaced, though he didn’t seem entirely embarrassed.Even after knowing him for so long, it was difficult to tell how her friend was really feeling sometimes.“I think his thoughtfulness is starting to rub off on me.”

“You two have become really close, haven’t you?”It was a rhetorical question, but he nodded anyway.Barring missions taking one or the other away from the village, they spent at least some part of every day together, so it was only natural.She was sad for the other boy that Sasuke couldn’t reciprocate any deeper feelings, but such things were out of anyone’s control.They couldn’t help how they felt about one another the same as she couldn’t change her feelings about Naruto. _Naruto . . ._

“We can think about Naruto later,” Sasuke admonished before any question could leave her.Hinata gave a small smile in response.He had known where her mind had begun wandering.“How’s your capacity looking?”

“About eighty percent, maybe a little higher,” she said slowly after a bit of introspection.“Tsunade-sama did the healing herself, didn’t she?”That was the only thing that made sense.Her injuries hadn’t been incredibly extensive, but converting one’s chakra for another’s use was a delicate art, and to restore so much in such a short amount of time was an impressive feat.

“Yeah, she said something about wanting to see us both fight as near to full strength as possible.”He seemed to consider something for a moment before shrugging and going on.“I’m about the same after spending the last forty-five minutes recovering; I checked you a few times to make sure we stayed even enough, relatively speaking.”

“That thoughtfulness of yours might get you in trouble one day,” she replied after finishing off the omusubi.At the moment it felt like she could have eaten a good dozen, but that had been enough for now.Fighting on a full stomach would be a bad idea anyway.

“Eh, I’ll still take the match easily enough,” he smirked, rising and offering a hand to help her off of the cold stone floor.She smiled again and accepted the gesture.There was the cockiness that she knew well.

Looking out on the arena felt a bit surreal this time.Her fight with Lee had done nearly as much damage to one side as Sasuke and Gaara’s had, and it had apparently become impossible to make everything look completely normal again.Here and there it was clear that the ground had been churned or stripped away multiple times, leaving a grainy surface behind after being repaired one too many times.The sparse trees and bushes that had lined the edges at the beginning were nowhere to be seen, likely buried or disintegrated by some technique or another.The spectators were still buzzing, and a few cheers rose when she and Sasuke made their way to the railing.It was a little embarrassing, honestly.

“I take it you won’t be putting those back on?” Sasuke asked after a moment, indicating the belt and skirt that had been set in a corner.Hinata blinked and looked down, not having remembered that her skirt was no longer present.She scolded her own rising blush, reaching into a rear belt pouch.

“Not that one, no,” she said, stepping away from the rail for some modicum of privacy.It wasn’t as if she was indecent, but it still felt odd to change in front of all of those people.She withdrew a folded skirt identical to the other, quickly stepping into it and zipping up the side.Sasuke raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

“Do all girls plan that far ahead with clothing?” he asked mildly, continuing without waiting for a response.“I’m glad I didn’t bother with weights today.I had enough trouble with Gaara and Neji without them.”

“Only because you underestimated them, I think, and even then you only had to use a lot of chakra.They were less battles of speed and more of strategy and ninjutsu.”He shrugged again at her analysis, leaning forward on the rail as she rejoined him there.By her estimation, he actually seemed a little bit off of his normal demeanor, most likely anticipating the match ahead.It was probable that the same held true for her.

“Nervous?” he asked after a stretch of silence between them.Hinata shook her head.

“Excited.”She looked aside at him and smiled again.He grinned.

“Same.”

Genma flickered into view at the center a short time later, and the onlookers quieted.He looked around as if surveying the repairs, nodded once, and then clasped his hands together.“The final match will begin in a moment.Please make your way back to your seats as the contestants take the field.”A single combined roar of approval was raised, and Sasuke and Hinata both turned together towards the ramp.Everything that had needed saying had been said.All that was left to do was to test their mettle against one another, and to give it their all.

The noise became deafening as the two of them emerged from the doorway far below, the voices of thousands supporting both of them equally.With it came thoughts of Naruto once again, of where he was and how he was doing, of what he would think if he were there to watch.Hinata shook her head, banishing those thoughts and willing them not to return until after the fight.Kakashi had been right: she needed to focus now more than ever.Naruto was fine.Everything was going to be alright.Right now, the best thing she could do for him was to engage Sasuke with everything she had, to leave it all on the arena floor without reservation.Surely it would be an encounter that neither of them would ever forget.

“For this match,” Genma started as they arrived, his voice momentarily unamplified, “don’t worry about the spectators.I’ve spoken to the Hokage, and we have jōnin positioned around the arena to cancel out or contain any large-scale jutsu.Normally we wouldn’t have to worry about it, but this set of exams has been a bit . . . special.”He actually smirked at that, a rare gesture from the serious man.“Get yourselves prepared.We start when you’re ready.”

“Thank you, Genma-sensei,” Hinata said beside of Sasuke’s nod.She stepped a few meters away before turning back to her friend, his Sharingan activating between one blink and the next.A few deep breaths cleared her mind, calmed her pulse, and settled her into a stance.Sasuke’s chakra circulatory system came into view with the calling of her Byakugan.The rest of the world faded away, the whole of her concentration on him, knowing the incredible dōjutsu and raw talent that she was up against.But no longer was she a little girl who did not believe in herself.Now she knew her own strength, that she could stand on equal footing with her friends and protect them as ably as they could her.Sasuke’s lips twitched into the barest grin as they stood facing one another, and she gave one of her own before setting her features into a blank mask, giving away as little as possible to an incredibly perceptive opponent.

“Looks like we’re ready,” Genma announced to the audience, apparently finding the need to excite the already overly enthusiastic crowd.He raised an arm and looked between them for a few seconds, seconds that stretched until they felt like minutes.“The final match between Hyūga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke . . .”The hand fell sharply, and he vanished with it.

“Begin!”

“Katon: Great Dragon Fire!”

“Suiton: Water Dragon!”

Hinata felt the tug of Sasuke’s Sharingan instantly, trying to subtly suggest her next actions.She shrugged it off, instead expelling water from her mouth in the shape of a dragon, though one much smaller than his crafted with flames.Fire could overcome water if it was strong enough, so she made certain that her technique had just the right amount of chakra put into it to barely cancel his out.The air became damp and hot as the serpents writhed and clashed between them, exploding in a hissing cloud of torrid steam.It washed over the arena floor, shrouding everything from sight – at least from normal eyes.

_Ethereal Senbon._ A handful of the gleaming needles streaked towards Sasuke, unseen through the haze, but she would have been a fool to expect them to go uncountered.A blast of wind – likely a Great Vacuum Sphere – expelled a large section of fog, serving a second purpose by incidentally deflecting a few of the senbon.Sasuke spun easily through the others despite how close they had been before becoming visible, creating two shadow clones at the same time.Hinata thought he might have switched with one, but it had been done so fast that she couldn’t be sure.The Byakugan couldn’t differentiate, so she would need to improvise.

Each of the clones and Sasuke himself released a fūma shuriken as they charged, and it was clear that something was amiss as soon as they were launched.The three whirring projectiles tore towards Hinata, rotating around one another in a peculiar pattern.She dropped and placed both hands on the ground before the blades made it halfway, realizing Sasuke’s intent even before electricity sparked to coat the oncoming shuriken, the current running between near-invisible wires that tied the weapons together.Using this much chakra so quickly was a gamble, but catching Sasuke off guard was a necessity.

“Doton: Cataclysm!”Another of the Sandaime’s techniques, this one was far from what Hinata was known for, but that was the point.Rather than knead a precise amount of chakra for the jutsu, she instead simply pushed through a third of her capacity and let it run wild.The oncoming shuriken collided with a huge stone pillar that broke free from the ground, the first of many that began jutting upwards in no discernable order.Once again the arena floor quaked and split, buckling underfoot and sending showers of dirt and rock everywhere.More protrusions were jutting towards the sky, no two alike, eventually numbering in the dozens before everything settled once again.The landscape had been completely changed – in Hinata’s advantage.

“Damn,” Sasuke mused, flickering into view atop one of the rises.He surveyed the area, apparently unconcerned.It was the real one, Hinata knew; the clones had been crushed or thrown into a wall to be dispersed.“Straying a bit from your style, I see.”

“It wouldn’t be much fun if we were predictable,” she smiled, alighting atop a nearby column of earth.He smirked back, tugging the swords from their sheath on his back as a response.She gripped the handles of her trench knives, already channeling chakra into the blades for what was to come.He did the same, and then they danced.

To most of the onlookers it might have been boring when compared to the frenzy of Hinata’s fight with Lee, but in some ways this fast-paced skirmish could be more deadly than a fourth gate-empowered punch.They sped through the broken landscape, chakra blades blurring into brief clashes before separating, and then only to circle a jagged pillar or jump a crevice before reuniting.As predicted, Hinata’s superior speed was perfectly matched by Sasuke’s Sharingan, able to predict and react quickly enough to keep the bout even.Neither of them landed a single blow for minutes, interspersing arcs of lightning and slashes of water between each encounter.They were matched evenly, as expected, but Hinata hadn’t changed the layout solely for fun.

As the fight wore on, she broke away sooner and sooner, to the point that each melee lasted mere seconds before she escaped once again.With the Byakugan she could see through everything, tracking Sasuke’s movements while he could only react when she came into view.Several times she vanished from his line of sight around a boulder or crag, sending a sharpened blade of water straight through or curving a fist of shuriken around towards his back.She ricocheted kunai off of one another at precise angles while attacking from the opposite side, each time met with her friend’s incredible alacrity.Most often he would predict the subversion, and other times he would create a water clone to watch his back the instant she disappeared.He knew how to fight against a Byakugan.

The landscape continued to change as they fought, weapons abandoned for taijutsu and elemental techniques.Fire consumed half of the floor at one point, doused by a hail of water bullets.Lightning skittered up and exploded a whole peak, and shortly thereafter she broke apart another to send it crashing down towards him.All the while spectators cheered and swelled with every conflict, even when a few stray techniques flew towards the stands and were cancelled by one of the jōnin standing ready.In fact, they sounded _more_ excited whenever something of the same occurred.But this wasn’t a fight that Hinata could maintain, and Sasuke knew it.

_He’s just trying to outlast me,_ she thought after using a Body Flicker to outdistance him again, landing on a small rock on the opposite end of the arena.Sasuke couldn’t see her from where he stood, already expelling a clone from his mouth for the umpteenth time in preparation for what was to come.He had more chakra and could afford to keep using it through an extended fight.But there was one thing she could use that might be too fast for him to react to, given the right circumstances.It would take even more chakra to accomplish, but it was worth the risk.She only hoped that he wouldn’t take a direct hit.

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu._ Hinata’s clone immediately took off with its instructions, flickering to another corner of the arena as she prepared the next technique. _Hakke: Seven Moon Spear._ The javelin elongated and set itself pointing towards Sasuke, who stood as he had been, waiting for her attack.She waited as well, watching him and preparing a Mountain Crusher while planting herself behind the projectile.Her clone was in position, its shuriken circling one side of the pillar that Sasuke stood near while it threw a single Slicing Wave to cut through. _Hakke: Mountain Crusher!_ She slammed her palm into butt of the spear, launching it at a breakneck pace straight towards Sasuke.It ripped through stone as if puncturing wax.She watched closely as his clone deflected the shuriken and he bent backwards to avoid the wave that would have taken him at the torso.The spear had been aimed true, and timed perfectly – too perfectly.She took in a sharp breath.“Sasu—!”

Sasuke was consumed in a brief flash of light as the spear struck; it had pierced straight through several layers of stone faster than thought, connecting with his left shoulder as he had straightened.Hinata followed in its wake, knowing that she should have been doing so in order to ensure victory but much more worried for his safety.She had not held back, and although she knew that Sasuke had been infused with a great deal of chakra at the time, it still might have caused much more harm than intended.

“Sasuke!” she called, landing lightly a few meters from the perfectly circular hole in the ground.The technique had liquefied the rock five meters down, and Sasuke was at the bottom of that pit, unmoving.“Sasuke!” she repeated, worried but not so much now that she could focus on his form.He was still in one piece, breathing, and surprisingly still circulating a huge amount of chakra.Had he truly absorbed the blast to such a degree?

“Fucking . . . ow.”He groaned, finally struggling to his feet after a few seconds and walking slowly up the side.“I even avoided a direct hit, and . . . ow.”She blinked, stepping back and readying herself as he stepped up and straightened, left arm hanging limply, clothes burned clean away around the shoulder.It really should not have been so baffling that he had been able to see and avoid the brunt of the damage so promptly, but it always was.

“I’m sorry,” she said, and she truly was.It was hard to injure a comrade in good conscience despite the circumstances, and harder still a close friend.But backing down would be an insult to him as her friend and adversary, and Naruto would most certainly disapprove.

“Don’t worry about it,” he shrugged, glancing at the lame shoulder and frowning slightly.“My fault for getting hit.Guess it’s time, though.”He gave a fierce and somewhat devious grin, then set his stance.Hinata tensed, but more because his chakra flow abruptly changed than anything else.It was focusing around his head, at a particular point that should have been useless to him, unless . . . “First Gate: Kaimon,” he growled, very clearly under an immense amount of strain.Hinata’s eyes widened of their own accord.“Release!”There were no visible effects like when Lee opened higher gates, at least none to the naked eye.Hinata could see the surge of chakra though, and it was plain to anyone else when Sasuke’s left arm twitch and flexed, forced into movement as the potential for every muscle was brought to its maximum limit.

“Man this hurts,” he grunted, visibly shivering before getting control of himself.“Can’t believe Lee can open five of these damn things.”Hinata’s mouth worked to come up with something to say, but it only ended in a proud smile.She doubted that Sasuke would ever be able to open more just as Kakashi could only release one, but it was an incredible accomplishment nonetheless.“You were saying something about unpredictability?”He grinned again, and then rushed forward.

Sasuke was not about to allow her to retreat and utilize her Byakugan like before, not with his newfound strength and speed.It was nowhere near the same level of oppressiveness as Lee’s, but he had other tools to work with that the older boy did not.Aside from his lightning-fast reflexes and powerful strikes, every set of attacks came with a new genjutsu to ward off.The Byakugan made his eyes visible to her at all times, which meant that he could affect her with illusion after illusion while in the midst of a melee.They were not difficult to cancel after so much training and experience, but they added an extra element to worry about beyond only taijutsu and the occasional weapon thrown in.

_Now is the time,_ she thought, interrupting her chakra flow for the eighth time as the Sharingan tried to take hold, turning aside a punch and blocking the following kick nearly at the same time.There had hardly been any opportunities to strike at tenketsu, but even when she had tried his reflexes were too honed, her movements too anticipated.Having to constantly counter his genjutsu was trying enough without adding in the melee.This next technique would drain nearly half of her remaining chakra, but it would turn the fight back in her favor if executed properly.

Hinata took a glancing blow to one arm while forming the proper seals for three water clones, not wanting to sacrifice the energy for shadow clones.They flashed away on the instant, racing a good distance off and out of sight.She pushed herself then, trying and succeeding in keeping Sasuke too occupied to attempt to destroy them.He growled in response, attempting to catch her in yet another genjutsu while sweeping a rapid series of kicks towards her torso.She flipped backwards, feeling the seals from the clones settle into place.The only thing left was to activate them, and so Hinata closed her eyes as Sasuke charged, allowing the Byakugan to recede.

“Kekkai: Spider’s Lair.”The effect felt just as eerie as it had the first time she had accomplished it under her father’s tutelage.She could feel the barrier spring up, knowing from experience that it would be pyramidal in shape originating from her three seals.Chakra began filling the space immediately, but not as a single mass or indistinct pieces.Three hundred and sixty-one strands finer than a spider’s silk extended outward, one from each tenketsu on her body.They flowed out and branched into more and more strings, continuing until the whole space within the barrier became a web of invisible chakra threads.Not being able to see with her eyes was disconcerting, probably more so as a Hyūga than it would have been otherwise, but she could still “see” in another sense.

Sasuke moved then, pursuing her, and every minor twitch was felt through her connection to the threads.They showed her the surroundings in perfect detail, a three-dimensional map within the barrier fixed in her mind’s eye.Sasuke was there moving towards her, right fist raised and traveling fast for her jaw.She raised her left hand, _feeling_ the blow rather than seeing it, turning it aside as easily as she might have with full vision.Without the concern for genjutsu taking over her senses at every turn, she pivoted the fight back into her favor immediately, using superior alacrity and the lack of ulterior distractions to land a chakra-laced strike to his side.She smiled and pressed on.

_If only Naruto could see me now._

* * *

“Okay, that’s cool,” Sasuke admitted, wincing back to reset after she was able to land a clean hit on his side.The spot tingled, but only from minor internal damage; she couldn’t close tenketsu without the Byakugan to see them, but that hardly mattered.Too many more of those and he would be toast. _Some kind of sensory barrier._ He hardly had time to think as she sprang forward again, Byakugan gone and eyes completely shut, effectively countering half of his dōjutsu.Even with the increased speed from the first gate and the Sharingan together, Hinata was just too damned fast to keep up with.Unable to ruin her focus with genjutsu, he was forced to go on the defensive and start giving ground. _Maybe I can maneuver out of here or outlast it.This has to use a lot of chakra._

Unfortunately it seemed that Hinata knew the boundaries of her own ability well, deftly keeping Sasuke penned by constantly circling and preventing any attempt at retreat with overwhelming speed.Several attempts with kunai and small fire techniques proved that she could feel those as well, dodging or deflecting everything while maintaining the assault.Even the one lightning jutsu he tried was countered, and there was only one thing that moved faster than chakra-made lightning: the real thing.

Sasuke began sacrificing hits in order to get powerful fire techniques off, pretending to aim them at her or just haphazardly.This was going to expend a huge amount of chakra, but it was the only thing quick enough to work.She avoided the Great Fire Dragon that he sent at an intentional angle, and he then guided the working until it roared out of the tinged barrier and into the sky.Several Great Fireballs and Flame Lances followed, all deceptively crafted to miss and then be controlled after exiting her range of perception.The desired storm clouds began to gather as the intense heat began changing the local atmospheric pressure.But this would still take time to prepare, and Hinata was not letting up her attack in the slightest.

_Soon_ , he thought doggedly, ignoring the various pains pulsating across his body.Her chakra strikes had been getting through, ripping several muscles and bruising a few bones while he had been busy with the preparation, but soon it would be worth the effort – or so he hoped.No matter how fast Hinata was, there was no way she could contend with a force of nature.The air was thickening adequately, and a rumbling in the clouds above signaled the time was nearing.All he had to do was catch the right moment, use his Sharingan like Kakashi had demonstrated, and the fight could conclude in a literal flash.He had only done this once with any real success, but confidence was key. _Almost . . . Raiton: Lightning Rod!_

The effect was instantaneous.Frightened cries from the stands were drowned out by the deafening roar of thunder, the arena shaking along with the tremendous sound.A jagged bolt of lightning struck Sasuke’s raised arm simultaneously, sending an incredible surge of power scorching through him, threatening to burn him from the inside out if not properly contained.He flung the other arm towards Hinata, who had skipped backwards as soon as the technique had begun.But only a Hiraishin might have been able to outpace this.

Arcs of wrist-thick lightning ripped away from Sasuke’s palm, barely controlled as it forked again and again, tearing molten furrows into the churned earth as it flashed by.Even the Sharingan couldn’t trace its path perfectly, making it that much harder to guide to its target.He growled with the effort as the last of the violent energy left him, forcing it to split into two forks.One went immediately into the nearest pillar of stone, causing half of it to explode outward in a shower of rubble, but the second found its mark.Hinata was still traveling backwards when the strike made contact with her left shoulder, the raw power causing her a momentary spasm as she tumbled to the ground, now gripping the smoldering shoulder with the opposite hand.Her eyes remained closed, expression unreadable.

“So I can hit you if I strike in one one-thousandth of a second,” Sasuke gasped, lowering the shaking arm that had ejected the jutsu.“I’m not sure if that should be comforting or insulting.”

“I wish I had been watching that with my eyes,” she replied, breath coming almost as labored as his.“I figured out what you were doing too late.That was amazing, Sasuke.”

“Not amazing enough,” he shrugged.Hinata was already on her feet again, right hand raised and ready, the left hanging limply.She hadn’t tried to heal it. _Low on chakra._ He wasn’t in much better condition in that regard.It was hard not to feel bad for burning her shoulder like that; it must have been extremely painful, but medical ninjutsu could fix it later.Minus one arm or not, it looked like his friend was ready to continue.In fact, despite her disadvantage, _she_ raced towards _him_ without a moment of hesitation.

After today, nobody would dare challenge Hinata’s fortitude ever again.

Sasuke found himself being pushed back as Hinata burst into a series of taijutsu forms adapted on the fly, incorporating a great deal more kicks to compensate for her useless arm.He saw through the bluff soon enough, however.The unused arm threw off her balance and slowed each movement noticeably, and the flurries of kicks and flips over his head were meant to fool him into thinking she was still able to keep up the previous pace.That was an impressive tactic coming from Hinata; using the art of deception as a normally disarming person had definitely been unexpected.It was time to turn the tides.

Over the next several minutes, Sasuke managed to match her pace, and then began ramping his up beyond her current capabilities.It still took a great deal of pushing given how insanely fast she moved, but with the new injury he could be faster.They blurred throughout the battle-worn arena, scaling rock columns, racing along the cement walls, flitting over one another’s heads and even going airborne a few times by vaulting off of some outcrop or another, all the while trying to edge out a real advantage.It was Sasuke who was able to create the first real opportunity after a long string of intense combat.

In a split-second gap between clashes, he brought both hands together into a clone seal, creating a shadow clone behind himself that immediately vaulted over both of their heads.Hinata could feel it, of course, but he threw himself into a frenzied melee before she could react, pushing his speed to the very limit.The bunshin started a Chidori mid-air, landing behind Hinata and thrusting towards her exposed back.Sasuke lunged forward at the same time, the technique flaring to life in his own hand.But this was only the first step.

_Raiden!_ The Sharingan always gave the perception of slowed time, allowing a clear view of what happened next, and if not for that then he would not have believed Hinata’s reaction.As the lightning from each Chidori sprang outward and attempted to connect to the other, Hinata raised _both_ hands, heedless of the marred shoulder that should have prevented movement.

She had been playing him the entire time.

“Shugohakke: Celestial Mirror!”The words escaped Hinata even as the twin currents reached her open palms, which now gleamed a brilliant white similar to the Chains of Light technique.Rather than making contact and connecting the current through her, each jutsu halted at her hands, little sparks and arcs scattering for that one instant.Then, without warning, Sasuke was sent careening backwards with the jolt of his own lightning technique, the whole of his left arm numb.He hit the ground hard and rolled, ineloquently toppling over himself once more before gaining a kneeling position.Surprisingly, Hinata was just regaining her footing as well, having tumbled after him a decent ways.Had she messed up the jutsu, then?

“The hell,” Sasuke panted, swallowing once and wavering upright, “was that?”

“Not perfect,” she winced, shaking back to her feet.He blinked.Her eyes were open again, and the barrier had faded.Her vision was very carefully focused on his feet, however.“I misapplied the chakra in my left hand, and, well . . .”She tried to shrug the arm in question, the same that had been hit with the lightning bolt, but this time it truly had been rendered unusable.In fact, it had turned an angry red wherever it wasn’t charred black.It hurt to look at.

“Sorry,” he said gruffly, forcing jellied legs to cooperate.He really was sorry; it looked much more painful now than it had.But rules were rules.

Sasuke took a deep breath and assessed the situation.Hinata was getting dangerously low on chakra, and so was he.That Lightning Rod technique had taken a lot out of him, especially considering its preparation, but she had been maintaining a wide barrier that had undoubtedly been flooded with chakra.A glance showed her levels lower than his, but only just, and that hardly meant anything.Hinata could do a lot more than he would have been able to with that amount.Given her earlier expenditure, she was in no condition to take another soldier pill; death would be a real risk then, and he knew that wasn’t something to be risked in an exam.

“You can take one,” she smiled from a few meters off, making him realize that his hand had been hovering by the appropriate belt pouch.Sasuke frowned, flexed his fingers a few times, then returned the hand to his side.

“I forgot to bring them,” he lied, prompting an exhausted laugh from his teammate.

“I don’t think they even believe you,” she replied, nodding towards the spectators.He was too focused on the match to be worrying about what they thought, but he tuned in long enough to hear choruses of thrilled mirth and absolutely maddened cheers.He shrugged, testing each limb in the process.Well, at least he had use of all of them, if barely.He wasn’t quite as spent as Hinata, fully proven by the fact that her eyes flicked upwards for a fraction of a second.

In that moment he caught her in an illusion utilizing the Sharingan, imprinting the image of himself suddenly sprinting forward and using a Great Fireball technique.It worked as intended, with her being too tired to realize the trick quickly enough and trying to counter with a Water Blast that passed harmlessly by the real him.Her eyes widened as he sprinted to close the gap, shoving chakra into his legs for stability and speed alike.There wasn’t much to spare, but it was enough.He felt the genjutsu break on arrival, ducking into a crouch to avoid her reflexive palm-strike, then bringing his leg up in the hardest vertical kick that he could manage.With luck and given her current state, it would be enough to end the match with her unconscious.

Luck was not entirely with Sasuke today.

Hinata’s small frame was lifted from the ground by his kick, her jaw popping as it dislocated.She fell hard several meters away, bouncing once and rolling twice before sliding to a halt.For only a moment did Sasuke think it was over, but then she twitched, and twitched again before placing both palms down and pushing slowly back.She sat for a long moment on her knees, appearing disoriented and dizzy, before finally rising again.

“Gods, Hinata,” he gasped, trying to suck in air by the liter.

“Gods yourself,” she mumbled back, pressing her jaw back into place with a small effort, hardly even showing the pain.“I’m not sure how you’re standing with so little chakra.”

“Me?What about you?”He hoped that sounded as incredulous as intended.She only shook her head, looking desperately drained but determined as ever.What the hell was he supposed to do with that attitude?It was like beating at a wall that refused to break down.

“I have enough in me,” he started, settling into a ready stance, “for one more technique.You?”He gripped his left wrist, concentrating what remained of his chakra there. _Come on . . . There’s enough for one.I know it._ A single spark began the process, and then more gathered, racing around his hand until it became obscured by crackling light. _Raikiri and one charge._ That was all he had left, but it would have to be enough.What he really wanted was to take a nap, but priorities were priorities.

“About the same,” she said, extending a hand.She looked to be struggling as much as he had to begin the jutsu, but after a few seconds one of those damned spears began coalescing.Hinata took it in a firm grip after it formed completely, and it was easy to see why.It looked like she had only a sliver of chakra left to work with, meaning there would be no Mountain Crusher to spur the ethereal weapon on.She would have to thrust it to meet him by hand.

They stood facing each another for a time, taking deep, calming breaths before the final encounter.The onlookers must have realized that this would be the end, every section quieting in turn.By the end it was only the two of them staring at one another in near complete silence, only the soft patter of rain and the cold cutting wind as company.His Sharingan met her Byakugan evenly, acknowledging one another, and then they surged forward as one.

Sasuke brought his arm back, sharpening the chakra in his palm, forcing it to the finest point.It would never compare to Hinata’s control, but the Raikiri’s purpose was different than her Seven Moon Spear.His was an ability capable of cutting through lightning itself, to pierce any defense in a flash.There would be no dodging under the spear and going for her; she could detonate the technique early and catch him in the blast, or react fast enough to dodge his straight thrust and whirl to finish him off.She was dealing with similar risks, most likely guessing that he would be able to detect any change in direction.No, she would meet him straight on knowing that he would be required to do the same.It would be a fitting and dramatic end to the match, with no certainty of which technique would win out.

Time slowed as Sasuke sprinted forward to meet Hinata.He could see every drop of rain falling sluggishly around them, bursting into showers of tiny droplets as they struck her arm, hissing into steam as they passed through the electricity crackling around his.He could see the vibrant swirling colors in each of the little orbs hovering at the spearhead, seeming like minuscule multicolored Rasengans at first glance.He could see every detail of her expression, set in grim determination and somehow managing to smile despite the pain, despite the incredible strain, and despite fighting against a friend.No, not despite it, but _because of it._ Sasuke grinned, throwing the remainder of his chakra into the thrusting arm and both legs as the techniques connected.It was all or nothing.

At first the jutsu only appeared to stop one another.The Raikiri oscillated as it ground against the tip of her spear, which began humming in response to the pressure.Her grip tightened as it became more difficult to hold steady, keeping it driven forward.He strained against it with every scrap of strength that he possessed, meeting those intense white eyes with a determined stare.She knew that he had absolutely no chakra to spare for genjutsu, but now wouldn’t be the time to use it even if he could.They had both made the choice to confront one another here, and it would be a poor show of character to use such tactics now.Instead he watched as arcs of lightning began breaking off at an increasing rate, lashing wildly at anything nearby.Flashes of light began pulsating from the spear, flickering faster and faster.The tension grew, the air itself becoming thick as chakra ran wild, pressing down on them with its own incredible force.

All at once the ground impacted, the center directly beneath their locked techniques.Clumps of dirt and rubble burst upwards and remained airborne instead of falling, whipped into a rotation by violent winds that cropped up on the instant. The screaming sound of the Raikiri intensified right alongside the hum of Hinata’s jutsu, which had risen to a clear and ear-splitting tone like nothing he had ever heard before.It felt as if the cacophony was beginning to resonate in his bones, shaking him to the core.

Pillars shattered, the earth trembled and the crater impacted yet again, creating a smaller depression within while widening the one already in existence.At this point the effects had nearly reached the arena walls, scouring the surface flat where it hadn’t been compressed downward.Boulders were pulverized by stray lightning strikes, a pulse from the spear causing fissures to erupt from below.The cyclone winds built, ripping at everything outside of the eye, inside of which Sasuke and Hinata continued their battle, both refusing to relent.The flashes of light came at an ever-increasing rate, finally reaching a point where it simply bloomed from the spear as a constant, too bright to look directly at and tolling like a colossal bell.

Sasuke couldn’t wipe the smirk from his lips even as his forearm splintered under the pressure, the skin searing off from fingertips to elbow.He couldn’t see Hinata anymore, but it didn’t matter.He could feel her, that incredibly focused chakra overcoming the Raikiri like floodwaters finally breaching a dam.A little disappointment slipped through first, but it was washed away without a second thought by pride, in honest recognition of how strong Hinata had become, of how hard she had fought to arrive at this moment.He had held nothing back to fight her on equal footing, and they had been so closely matched the entire way that it could have gone either direction.But she had been the one to think further ahead, to predict and react more appropriately, and to use her advantages to greater effect than he had been able to.In the end this was her day, earned through years of hard work and struggle – not only against the destiny which her father had once prescribed her, but against inner demons the likes of which Sasuke would never fully understand.

_I can be alright with that . . ._ The thought came dully as light consumed him, preceding the darkness soon to come. _You’re one of two that this fool Uchiha can be proud to lose to.Just look how far we’ve come together . . ._ Consciousness faded with all sound and sensation, one last thought echoing in the recesses of a contented mind.

_Here we come, Itachi._

* * *

Waking up more than once in a single day always caused some small amount of disconcertion, and this time was no exception, though as the third instance and accompanied with a tremendous amount of pain, it was definitely the worst so far.Why was the sky spinning like that?Then again, why was she staring at the sky?Wasn’t this the middle of a match?

_That’s right . . . Sasuke?_ Hinata’s thoughts were muddled, impossible to keep straight.She was on her back, struggling to keep both eyes open.Everything hurt.Both arms felt like dead weights.Her surroundings were oddly quiet and wet.Cold rain pattered mercilessly on her face.The prospect of getting up seemed more daunting than taking on all of Akatsuki alone, but she couldn’t give up now.She had come so far, and what would Naruto say? _He would say he was proud of me anyway, but . . ._

The seconds it took to roll onto her front felt like ages, and then longer still to get one arm’s assistance in forcing herself up to her knees.The other looked to have been severely burned, all red and black.Her head bobbed as it tried to fall, allowing her a glimpse of the rest.The half-working arm was patterned with the distinct red markings of a lightning flower, flowing from her palm to halfway up the same bicep.The telltale burst capillaries were another gift from Sasuke, then. _Sasuke?_ Where was he?

She scanned around blearily, squinting all the while.Everything was a bit blurry, and both eyes felt like they had been coated with film laced with weak acid.Hinata kept blinking, taking in the surroundings, trying to find her friend.She was on the upper slope of a broad crater, and the spectating areas were visible over its crest.Trying to hear proved mostly fruitless; her ears were still ringing from the explosion.

_There._ Her gaze fell on Sasuke at last, lying at the bottom of a second impression in the center of the larger.He was on his back as she had been, eyes half-lidded and no longer containing the Sharingan.The short rise and fall of his chest proved that he was alive, alleviating some amount of concern, but his left arm looked to have been horribly mangled.Several shards of bone protruded from his forearm, which looked to have been crushed back into the elbow.Blood was flowing freely from the horrible wound, though not so rapidly that he would be at risk of dying.Despite it all, a tiny smile held on his otherwise blank expression.That seemed odd, for some reason, but she couldn’t work out why.

“Hinata!” somebody yelled into her ear, causing a few blinks before she swivelled her gaze over.Genma’s voice had sounded far away even from so close.He asked something else, but she shook her head, unable to hear clearly.The man straightened from kneeling next to her, waving to something or somebody outside of her field of view.That was odd; shouldn’t her Byakugan have been active?

“Uchiha Sasuke is unable to continue.Hyūga Hinata is the victor, and the champion of these Chūnin Exams!”Though amplified many times, the jōnin’s voice still sounded like it was coming from very far away.Something else overpowered whatever he was saying afterwards, the tremendous sound of countless voices maybe, but it was difficult to tell for sure.A moment later Hinata found herself blinking at the sky again, wondering when she had gotten onto her back and why she was moving.Somebody carrying her, maybe?

_I hope Sasuke is okay . . ._ She supposed it was wonderful to have won, but making certain that her friend was taken care of took precedence over any victory.They had both fought their hardest, and it had been both challenging and thrilling every step of the way.She hoped Sasuke felt the same way.Considering that silly grin of his at the end, it was a pretty good bet.

A hand took hers and held firmly, prompting her eyes to flutter open.When had they closed?Her father’s concerned eyes met hers then, a broad smile unlike any she had ever seen on the man splitting his serious features.Tears welled in the corners of her own eyes, but she willed them not to fall.She smiled back and tried to squeeze his hand, but only managed a feeble twitch.He shook his head and leaned down to kiss her forehead, then mouthed the words ‘rest now.’Hinata managed a nod, allowed her eyes to close, and then surrendered to fatigue for the second time that day.Maybe she would be allowed to sleep for a little bit longer this time.

/*\

Naruto jolted awake in an immediate panic, images of the last few seconds of consciousness flashing in his vision: a translucent barrier, his friends sprinting towards him, Genma trying to break through.The gravity hadn’t stopped, and the chakra drain had gone out of control.He had been trapped, and so had Kinōda.Now he was sitting in a bed in a dimly-lit sterile room, heart racing and with no memory of how he had gotten there or what had happened and if his friends were still okay or if Kurama had helped him or—

“Calm down, Naruto.”Kakashi’s voice caused Naruto to jump, and then to realize that he was sweating and breathing hard.His lips were dry, his throat tight.Where was Kurama?He could barely feel the Fox, like a vague notion buried in the depth of thought.Normally the mindscape popped up when he passed out, at least for a little while, but not this time.

“What,” he began, licking his lips and trying to adjust to the darkened room.“What happened?Where are we and why?”

“Lie back and take a few deep breaths,” Kakashi instructed, a hand pressing gently but firmly against his chest.Naruto complied, closing his eyes and trying to steady his breathing.It was then he realized that there was a hand holding loosely to his left, those small and slender fingers comfortable between his own.He let out a long breath, opening his eyes to find Hinata sleeping in a narrow hospital bed that had been pushed up against his.Both of her arms were covered in bandages, the ones on her left particularly thick like they were covering poultices and wrapping halfway up her neck.There were no other visible injuries, but those were enough to cause a feeling of nauseating dread.He hadn’t caused that . . . had he?

_Kurama?Kurama, can you hear me?_ A restless shift in the bowels of consciousness proved that his thoughts had gotten through, but it seemed that the bijū would be asleep for some time yet.“Please, Kakashi-sensei . . . I need to know what happened.I felt Kurama’s chakra just before I blacked out, and . . . and now I feel just like I did during the second stage.Did I lose control again?Did I hurt anyone?”

“You’re supposed to let the injured rest,” Sasuke grumbled from his right.Naruto turned to see the other boy propping himself up on a few pillows, grimacing down at a fat cast and sling supporting his left arm.“So much for the greatest medical ninja.She couldn’t even fix a broken arm in one go.”

“I think mending a pulverized forearm is a bit different than fixing a simple break,” Kakashi said dryly.“It shattered into thirty-one pieces and splayed back towards your elbow.You’re lucky she got it back into one piece.And you didn’t do that, Naruto,” he added after a moment, most likely because Naruto’s mouth had been working to ask the sickening question.

“Yeah, your girlfriend did.Hell, I might have died with any less chakra in that Raikiri.”

“Wait, Hinata did that?What?”Now Naruto’s head was spinning with even more questions.The remaining matches had played out without him, then.

“Mm . . . Naruto?” the girl in question murmured sleepily, eyes blinking open at the mention of her name.“Naruto!” she gasped then, moving to fling both arms around his neck and bury her face in his neck.She said nothing else for the time being, now simply sharing his bed and lying halfway on top of him.It seemed that her injuries were less severe than Sasuke’s.Did that mean . . .?

“It’s been about thirty hours,” their sensei went on, lowering himself backwards on a seat at the foot of Naruto’s bed and leaning over the chair back.“Your match was nullified after what happened, and you were transferred to the hospital after the finals were concluded.”

“Can you tell me what _did_ happen, then?Why does it feel like everybody’s afraid to give me a straight answer?”It was impossible to keep his tone anywhere near light.He knew that the question sounded demanding and somewhat angry, but he couldn’t help it.Sasuke kept staring at the wall, Hinata shivered and held on a bit tighter, and Kakashi looked tired as he surveyed Naruto with that one dark eye.

“We think somebody interfered from beneath the arena floor and altered your techniques before putting up the barrier,” he said at last, maintaining eye contact.“We tried to break the barrier before you lost consciousness, but it was too strong.Kurama must have given you some of his chakra to keep you alive, and then he went wild like before.Kinōda is dead, but Tsunade-sama and the ANBU tailing you stepped in to handle containment.Nobody else walked away with serious injuries.”Sasuke’s eyes flicked to Kakashi for only an instant, but that told Naruto enough.That wasn’t the whole truth.

“What did I do?” he asked quietly, staring down at his hands.

“Naruto, it wasn’t your—”

“What did I do?” Naruto cut him off, his voice hard and fighting off the thickness of emotion.It didn’t matter if it was him, Kurama, or someone manipulating either one.At the end of the day, it was his body and therefore his responsibility.One person was already dead because he had been careless, a boy who had been trying to prove something to the world.Kinōda had been strong, and he had been fighting for his own ideals and village – to be recognized.And now he was dead.

Kakashi sighed, but he did as Naruto had asked.It wasn’t a long explanation, keeping to the specifics and dwelling on nothing for long, but by the end Naruto felt like throwing up.He stayed silent for a long while, struggling to find the right words, but none were to be found.He had gotten into a situation that required Kurama’s help, and somebody had died because of it.Not only that, but he had impaled _Tsunade_ ; he could have killed her, one of the few people left in the village that had any faith in him.What did she think now?How could she trust him after this?

“She knows that it wasn’t your fault, Naruto.Hiashi vouched for you personally, stating with confidence that you had no other choice but to use the Kyūbi’s chakra to stay alive.He was watching the match closely, and says he saw something suspicious beneath the arena floor.”That did assuage his guilt some, but it wouldn’t go away completely.This was a blow not only to his self-confidence, but to his feeble reputation as well.The villagers and older generations of shinobi already feared or looked upon him with distaste after the last exams.What now?How in the world could he convince anyone that he only wanted to protect people, to serve the village as best he could?It was like watching his dreams slowly unravel.

“How . . .” Naruto started finally, gruffly.He shook his head.It wasn’t fair to focus so much on himself.Hinata and Sasuke were still there by his side, and so was Kakashi.Hell could freeze over and the world could burn, and they would always be there with him.That was more than enough to carry on with.“How did the rest of the exam go?How were your guys’ matches?”

“This doesn’t tell you enough?” Sasuke asked, expression bland as he lifted the busted arm.“Hinata beat Tenten, Lee, and me back to back to back.Those new techniques she’s been practicing in secret are lethal, I swear.”

“I still don’t agree with the decision,” Hinata grumbled, finally loosening her hold to slide back and sit beside Naruto.Her hand slid into his and held on.He tried to smile; she looked cute when pouting, after all, but it was hard to muster joy at the moment.“We were both unconscious afterwards.”

“Yeah, but you were up for about a minute longer.In a real fight that could mean you survive on your own power or have time to get help from an ally.I was toast.”

They detailed the whole thing after some light banter, interrupting one another frequently to embellish when the other failed to give themselves enough credit.Sasuke filled in most of Hinata’s other fights, making a point to note just how much chakra she had used and the close calls with Lee and Tenten, both for different reasons.By the end Naruto had swelled with pride for both of his friends, hating himself for not being as happy as he should have been.Those plaguing thoughts wouldn’t go away.

“I wish I could have been awake to see it all,” Naruto sighed, quickly covering for the morose thought by pulling Hinata into a tight hug.“I’m proud of you.Thanks for beating this guy up for me,” he added with a wink over her head at Sasuke.The other boy scowled appropriately, though didn’t quip back as expected.He looked distracted.

“I’m proud of all of you,” Kakashi intoned as Hinata settled back at Naruto’s side.He surveyed all three of them for a moment, examining and weighing before speaking as he often did.Naruto knew that it meant something serious was about to be discussed.“All three of you took the initiative to learn techniques on your own, some kept secret since long before these exams began.”He eyed Hinata at that and looked to be smirking beneath the mask.She only flushed lightly and smiled back, and Naruto gave her hand a squeeze.“Each of you fought tough battles and came out on top because of your dedication to training and to one another.No other team performed as well as you three, and that’s not just my bias talking.

“We won’t have any training or missions until after the results come in,” he continued, rising with a casual stretch.“The deliberations on promotions will take a few days, so use that time to rest and recover fully.They should be able to finish mending you two by then.”

“What about me?” Naruto asked quietly, no longer looking up at the man.He studied the pseudo-claws on the end of his fingers instead.The question’s intent didn’t need explaining.

“We have a meeting with Tsunade-sama after the results are decided,” Kakashi replied after a few seconds, folding his arms and appearing to consider his next words carefully.“She forbade me from sharing much with you, but . . . you should be prepared for bad news.”He grimaced and half-turned away before stopping, growling something under his breath about protocols and consequences before returning his gaze to them, voice low and . . . solemn.It was an unnerving thing to hear from the normally nonchalant man.

“Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata,” he started, looking seriously at each of them in turn.“I won’t tell you not to worry about what’s to come in these next few days.I won’t coddle you and say that everything will be fine.This week will be one of the hardest you will ever have had to get through together.Things will feel terribly unfair because they will be.The only advice I can give you is to stick together and to live up to the shinobi name: endure, and then come out stronger for it, both as individuals and as a team.The souls of the mighty are forged in the fires of adversity, tempered by hardship and sharpened through trials.There will hardly ever be an easy path for you, but as the Sandaime once told me, nothing worth doing is ever easy.”He left it there, nodding to them once before departing, a heavy silence left in his wake.

“Well that was fucking depressing,” Sasuke muttered, snapping Naruto out of his spinning thoughts.Hinata was chewing worriedly on her lower lip, lost in her own mind.“What’s the worst that can happen?We don’t get promoted?It’d be bullshit, but whatever.It’s just a title.”

“You two will be promoted,” Naruto said, trying not to let his tone turn heavy.“There’s no reason for them not to.I won’t be.”That was a simple fact, clear as day, but they either genuinely disagreed or just wanted to make him feel better.

“Don’t say that, Naruto,” Hinata chided, giving his hand a fretful squeeze.“You showed deference the same as we did during the second stage, they saw how strong you are, and Kakashi-sensei said that they know you didn’t mean to use the Kyūbi’s chakra like that.”

“He said that Tsunade-sama knows that,” he corrected, shaking his head.“He also said to expect bad news.She isn’t the only one to decide who gets promoted to chūnin, and it feels like it would be a bad idea to suggest the kid who can’t control his own powers.”

“So you’ll get promoted when we figure out what’s going on,” Sasuke shrugged.“I know it probably doesn’t mean much to you, but you could kick any chūnin’s ass any time you wanted.They all know it, too, so you’re as much as one already.”Naruto did manage a real smirk then.It did mean something, at least more than what Sasuke suggested.His friends’ trust and confidence meant more than confirmation from anyone else.That would be enough for now, and forever after if necessary.

“I think there’s something else.”Hinata spoke softly, carefully, as if trying to navigate the idea before forming the appropriate words.“Kakashi-sensei wouldn’t be that grim unless something serious were about to happen to us, and he was clearly frustrated or upset about it.He’s never been like that before.”

“There’s no use worrying over the unknown,” Naruto shrugged, settling back against his pillows, staring at the ceiling.He tried contacting Kurama again.Nothing.“All I know is that I need to find out what’s getting to Kurama, or else I won’t be safe to be around anymore.And there’s no point arguing that,” he went on, glancing aside at Hinata, who closed her parted lips in response.He smiled again, fondly and sadly, running his thumb across her bandaged fingers.“I could have killed either of you in that state and not remembered it, the same as I don’t remember killing . . . killing Kinōda or stabbing Tsunade-sama.I need to figure this out, or else I might as well lock myself in that cell Gaara was in.”

“Well that’s not happening,” Sasuke said shortly.“And quit saying ‘I’ you ass.We’re a team, and we’re your friends.We’re going to figure it out together.Remember what you told me years ago, about Itachi?We’ll do it the right way, and we’ll do it together.”

“Thanks, Sasuke,” he replied wryly, quieting for a moment before saying in a lower voice, “Thanks.I just . . . I don’t know what to do.I don’t like feeling powerless and like I’m being manipulated.It’s . . . maddening, and it’s scary.”

“We’re here, and we always will be,” Hinata soothed, touching his cheek before leaning over to kiss the same spot.He swallowed and nodded, shifting to lie facing her.She closed the distance between them without pause, pulling his head gently to her chest and cradling it there.He nestled closer, closing his eyes and taking deep, calming breaths, making himself focus on Hinata: her fingers running through his hair, her hand resting on his back, her gentlest murmurs warding against troubled thoughts.A wonderful, comforting scent came with every inhale, like standing in a field of lavender covered with a crisp predawn dew.They were all safe, and they were all together.That was all that needed to matter right now.

Unfortunately, dreams were far less forgiving than reality.

/*\

Three days passed without word from Tsunade, though Kakashi stopped by the hospital several times to give what updates he could.Apparently the public outcry about Naruto had been less severe than expected, most likely dampened by the successful completion of the exams.That didn’t mean it was absent, however.A petition to lock him up circulated the village and found its way to the Hokage within the first day, and there were many more high-ranking officials demanding audiences than usual.According to Kakashi, someone had even tried to submit a mission request – A-rank, no less – to ‘address the problem.’Tsunade had apparently ignored or furiously refused all of them, making several proclamations in Naruto’s defense, or at least in neutrality.That was heartwarming for certain, but it didn’t quite outweigh the entire village being against him.

Naruto spent most of the time away from the hospital, taking long walks or training to keep his mind off of things, but mostly just trying to stay out of the way and out of sight.He had been entirely healed after the first day, and the medical staff had been more than willing to discharge him early.The muted conversations and frequent glances had been enough on their own to make him want to leave.Nobody there seemed to _hate_ him necessarily, but the constant undertone of fear pervaded in its place.Who could blame them?After Kurama had come out and incidentally killed a handful of villagers and destroyed whole blocks, then after two incidents during this exam, it was a wonder they had given him a bed.

Iruka had only been overflowing with concern, of course.He didn’t care what the villagers, other ninja, or even Tsunade thought.He expressed complete confidence and support for Naruto, fussed over him as always, and made lunches and snacks to take to Sasuke and Hinata every day besides.It was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise difficult time.Teuchi and Ayame at Ichiraku were much the same, only informing Naruto just how proud they were that he and his teammates had done so well, and that they could all eat free for a week as a proper reward.It was another instance to remind him that he wasn’t alone, that not everybody thought the same things about him, and that circumstances could get better.

It wasn’t until halfway through the second day that Kurama woke up at last.Again the Fox was in a brief fury before simmering down to cold rage, though the haunting thing was that he hadn’t seen anything this time.

_Nothing?_ Naruto asked, using the Hiraishin to move from his bedroom to Training Ground Three, fingers brushing the seal he had placed on the centermost post. _Last time you saw an eye at least._

**_Nothing.One moment I was forcing my chakra into you, and the next I was waking up today,_** the Kyūbi spat. ** _It was the same feeling, however, so it would be safe to say that it was the same technique.It could have been a delayed-activation genjutsu, or maybe you weren’t looking directly at the Sharingan this time._**

_The stands were packed; it could have been anyone above the spectating area.That’s the last place I was looking, wasn’t it?_ A grunt of confirmation was all he got in response.Kurama wasn’t up for much conversation, preferring to brood for a time while trying to work things out on his own.Naruto left him to it, opting to practice the Hiraishin with changes in inertia.That could keep his mind off of anything, since the slightest distraction could still cause some real problems.Tasks that required heavy focus had taken up a good portion of the days recently.

Hinata and Sasuke recovered swiftly enough, with his taking markedly longer for the severity of the injury.According to him, the last medic-nin to do a round of healing had expressed wonder that he had recovered so completely, stating that such a wound could easily have rendered the arm permanently lame, or at least the hand.Hinata had gone completely white after he had informed them during a casual conversation, apologizing so many times in a short timespan that Naruto wondered if she might ever recover from the guilt.

“Hinata, seriously, for the last time I’m _fine_ ,” he grumbled as they walked together towards the Hokage’s tower, raising the hand in question and flexing every finger in turn before making a tight fist.“Check with your Byakugan if you have to, but it’s all in one piece, and bones grow back stronger after a break.So really: you only did me a favor in the long run.”

“But I could have—” she began in protest, but Naruto gave her hand a squeeze to put that train of thought to rest.

“I think you were the one who told me not to dwell on ‘what ifs,’ remember?”She looked a bit put out at that, but did give a reluctant nod.“You fought Sasuke with everything you had, and that’s what he wanted.Right Sasuke?”The other boy raised an eyebrow and nodded as if that should have been obvious.“So technically, it’s his fault.See?Nothing to worry about.”Sasuke punched his arm in response, and Hinata smiled and gave another nod.

“Sometimes I think people just need a good solid punch in the face,” Sasuke muttered after a while.Naruto glanced aside, catching a glimpse of the Sharingan as his friend glared at anyone caught watching the trio.At first it looked like he was just using it to look more intimidating, but it became clear what he was doing after a sour-faced woman gasped and fell to her knees, now trembling and staring horrified at Sasuke.

“Sasuke!” Hinata whispered sharply, drawing a scowl from the boy.“They might be rude and misguided, but that doesn’t mean you should use genjutsu on them.That’s against the law!”

“Whatever.They deserve it.”His eyes remained the same, but it looked like he stopped using illusions to intimidate passersby.Naruto said nothing, keeping his gaze forward and trying to ignore everyone who scowled or literally spat in his general direction.He would have pulled his hand away from Hinata’s if not for the knowledge that she would have scolded him and taken it back immediately.He didn’t want them to be so closely associated with him in the villagers’ minds, but there was nothing else for it but to appreciate what they were doing for him.After a time, Hinata activated her Byakugan, though without scowling at every other person.He suspected she only did it to make more people avert their eyes, basically doing what Sasuke had been without treading into illegality.Naruto squeezed her hand.Friends like these were impossible to come by, and the reason he pushed himself so hard every day.He knew it was the same for them as well.

They weren’t made to wait at all upon arrival at the Hokage’s office, which had only been expected; this meeting had been set up for days, and most likely planned around by all parties involved.An ANBU agent let them pass after announcing them inside, and Kakashi was already standing in front of Tsunade’s desk when they came in.Naruto lined up with his friends beside their instructor, facing an exceptionally tired-looking Godaime who for once had no stacks papers on her desk.Instead there was one scroll, two medium-sized wooden cases, and three sets of nearly identical documents.Shizune was absent, and in her place Jiraiya stood just behind and to the right of Tsunade’s chair, frowning out the window.

“Thank you all for arriving punctually,” she started, hard eyes studying them for a moment before going on.“I’m sure Kakashi told you already, but just to be certain that you know: it was by my order that he did not tell you the nature of this meeting.Jiraiya and I personally saw to the warding of this room against every conceivable threat to security, and there are more ANBU hidden around the tower right now than you probably thought existed.”That caused Naruto to blink, but it wasn’t yet time to ask questions.Severe security measures only meant severe matters to discuss, and they had expected as much.“I say all of that to preface this: aside from the announcement of promotions, everything said, heard, observed, or even perceived within this room today will not be revealed to anyone outside of it.The six of us will be the only ones privy to this information henceforth.Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” they said together, eliciting a nod from the woman.

“Good, then we’ll start with the results from the chūnin exam.As you likely expected, all three of you scored highest among your peers – that includes you, Naruto,” she added, prompting a him to blink away a startled look.That couldn’t possibly mean what he thought it could.“However,” she went on, “as you also likely expected, only Sasuke and Hinata have been given clearance for promotion as a result of the disturbances during the second and third portions of the exam.I will stress, however, that this was _my_ decision, not theirs.Judgements are mostly a formality, and the final decision on whether or not a genin becomes a chūnin is mine to make regardless of what those fools say.

“The situation stands thus: the visiting nations don’t trust you, Naruto.The villagers don’t trust you.A good portion of our own forces don’t trust you.If I were to grant a seemingly unstable jinchūriki higher rank, it would cause political and civil outrage.It could quite literally cause a small-scale war, and that isn’t something I am willing to risk for the sake of a title.”

“I understand, Tsunade-sama,” Naruto put in, keeping his features placid.Kurama was growling in the back of his head, but he ignored it.They had known that this had been coming.

“I’m sorry, Naruto,” she continued, and it was clear that she meant it.“I know what promotion means to you, and so I did the next best thing.”She lifted one set of documents and held them out, waiting until he reached out to receive them before speaking again.“Those are papers detailing your promotion to chūnin following an investigation into the cause of your ‘instability.’If it is found that there was foul play involved, you will be promoted immediately.The arbiters were willing to allow that much, though only because they think an investigation would result in confirmation of their own beliefs.”

“I . . .” Naruto swallowed, struggling to find the right words to express his appreciation.Tsunade only smirked at him and shook her head, and he quickly bowed.“Thank you, Tsunade-sama.Really – thank you.”

“Hinata, Sasuke.”Tsunade slid the two lacquered cases forward, indicating one for each of them.“These are standard-issue flak jackets, and the mark of rank for a chūnin.You can use them, modify them, or decide not to wear them at all.It’s really more of a custom than a rule.The paperwork has already been processed, and these are notarized for your records.”She slid the other sets of documents forward as well, and both Sasuke and Hinata stepped forward together to receive both items before bowing and offering their thanks.

“Now, the reason for all of this secrecy . . .”With the official business concluded, she leaned forward and gained a more severe tone, propping her elbows on the desk.“I have reason to believe that whoever is causing these disturbances is acting from within Konoha itself.I believe that they are among those we consider our allies, perhaps in the heart of our organization itself, perpetrating these incidences for their own purposes.I can’t tell you why I think these things,” she added, “but just know that I’m fairly confident and working on getting to the bottom of it.

“In the meantime, I need you out of the way, Naruto.As things lie, you’re a liability and could accidentally impede our efforts to discover the source, or worse they might find a way to bring Kurama out more fully next time, and that isn’t something we can afford to have happen.As such, I’m sending you on an extended mission outside of the village.Don’t worry – all three of you will be going.”

“An extended mission?Doing what?” Sasuke asked, glancing aside at his teammates.“You’re just going to send us away while Naruto’s at risk?”

“I’m sending you away _because_ he is at risk – greater here than out of the village, I believe.Jiraiya has agreed to lead the mission, and there’s no safer place than under the constant watch of one of the Sannin.”Jiraiya grumbled something under his breath, but she ignored it.“He will oversee your training as chūnin using recommendations from Kakashi, who will need to stay here in order to help me with the investigation.He’s one of the few I can trust for certain, and knows more about what we’ll be looking into than most.”

“What about Akatsuki?” Hinata ventured.“Aren’t they searching for Naruto?This could be playing into their hands.”

“We’ve considered that,” Tsunade said with a dismissive wave.“Jiraiya?”The man grunted before turning fully towards them, squinting at the trio as if scrutinizing before heaving a sigh.

“Akatsuki works in two-man cells, and each of them is usually assigned to one task at a time so far as I can interpret from my intel.My toad contacts keep an eye out for their activities, and so I have a rough idea of where most of them are at a given time.If they start acting suspicious or heading our way en masse, we’ll know.”

“There’s also Orochimaru to worry about,” Naruto pointed out, nodding towards Sasuke.“He still seems pretty intent on getting Sasuke, and the two of us too according to those Sound guys.”

“He’s a wildcard, true, but we shouldn’t be too worried about him if we stick together and remain aware.I’m stronger than he is, and you three are nothing to scoff at when working together.I hear you actually beat Kakashi once,” Jiraiya smirked.Tsunade blinked and glanced back at him, then raised an eyebrow towards Kakashi to ask the silent question.

“It’s true.With their rate of progress, I wouldn’t be surprised if they surpassed me individually in just a few years.”He broke rank to step directly behind Naruto, placing a hand on Hinata and Sasuke’s shoulders on either side, smirking down at all three of them.“It was a bit short-lived, but these last seven months were as rewarding for me as I hope they were for them.They were the first team to pass my test, and exceeded expectations every step of the way since.It was my privilege to have been their instructor, and I’m indescribably proud of them.”

“I hadn’t really thought about that,” Naruto remarked, looking up and back at Kakashi.“This means you’re not our instructor anymore, doesn’t it?”A bit of tightness took hold in his chest.It had felt like a lifetime training and doing missions with Kakashi; had it truly only been seven months?

“Sasuke and Hinata are chūnin now, and you will be as well when you return to Konoha.You’ll go on more challenging missions, maybe lead your own teams, and serve the village in different ways than you have been.My role in your development is complete, but I’ll be around in case you need help with anything.”He winked his one visible eye down at them, and they each smiled back to varying degrees.A lot of things were changing, but life had to go on.

“I’ll be sending Haku with you, by the way, to serve as a go-between for the purposes of communication.I want a trustworthy line of contact in case something happens, and he’s been proving himself extremely adept at similar tasks.Jiraiya will give you the mission details, but on paper – and what you will tell everyone else, including Haku and Iruka – you’re on an extended border patrol mission.If anyone asks which border specifically, just say that you don’t know yet; we don’t want to give potential spies any information that might be useful.”Tsunade leaned back, nodding towards the door.“I have to speak to Jiraiya and Kakashi alone now.Prepare to leave in a week’s time, on the first of the new year.You’re dismissed.”

Naruto bowed alongside his friends, turning to lead the way from the room.As he reached for the doorknob, Tsunade’s voice stopped him once again.“Oh, and congratulations, Team Seven.You led the way in showing the world what Konohagakure has to offer, and for that you have my thanks.Mission requests are already beginning to flood in, and I can only attribute that to you and your peers for doing your very best for the village – and for each other.Well done.”Naruto cast a grin back at the Hokage, then opened the door to file out with Hinata and Sasuke just behind.

“Guess everybody’s getting called in this morning,” Shikamaru yawned, his voice halting Naruto just outside of the door.The boy was leaning against the wall opposite the office, looking bored as usual.Almost everyone who had been in the finals was there.Team Gai was together a bit down the hall talking amongst themselves.Sakura and Shino were sharing the bench beside Shikamaru, keeping to themselves until Sasuke emerged, at which point the kunoichi hopped up and made a beeline for him.

“Looks like it,” Naruto remarked, glad to see everyone in good spirits.There were a few missing, however.“What about Kiba, Ino, and Chōji?”

“Not getting promoted, I would guess,” he shrugged, not looking overly concerned about it.“It’s troublesome, but it makes sense given how the exams played out.”

“Kiba was surprisingly understanding,” Shino said in his quiet monotone, adjusting his sunglasses before continuing.“His temperament has improved considerably as of late, and he merely took it as motivation to work more vigorously.”

“Chōji got taken out too early to get evaluated properly, and my guess with Ino would be her performance against Tenten in the finals.She’s made a lot of improvements over the last few months, but not enough to make the cut.”As usual the boy was cool and calculating, not allowing emotion to get in the way of reason.

“Do you think they’ll be able to get on a team together for the next set of exams?” Hinata asked.“I think Kiba-san would make a nice addition with you away.”Shikamaru made a face, but nodded after a moment of consideration.

“With Ino and Chōji’s recent training regimens, they’re both much more flexible with team composition than they used to be.I expect all three will be able to adapt well enough.What about you guys?The Godaime have any specific—?”

“You’re leaving?!” Sakura exclaimed over Shikamaru, causing every head to swivel their way.“When?For how long?”Sasuke looked particularly annoyed at her outburst, but answered levelly enough.

“Some time next week, and we don’t know how long yet.It’s just border patrol crap; nothing particularly exciting about going between and checking in on our outposts.”

“Those types of missions can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months depending on the territory you will be assigned to,” Neji put in, approaching with Tenten and Lee.“Not considered particularly dangerous in the current era, but I was under the impression that you three are being targeted by a few dangerous groups.”

“Yeah, weren’t those five from the Sound after you?And what about Orochimaru or those two guys who showed up while Naruto was gone?” Tenten asked, flashing a grin at Hinata before going on.“Seems to me that some other group could do that just as well without the same risks.”

“Hey, don’t ask me.Take that up with Tsunade-sama.”Naruto tried to laugh in a convincing enough manner.They weren’t allowed to tell the real reasons, after all.“I’m sure we’ll be fine; Jiraiya-sensei is going with us too.”That seemed to assuage most of the group’s concerns, though Sakura was still speaking to Sasuke in low tones off to one side, and Neji didn’t look wholly convinced.“We’ve gotta head out and do some planning, and probably some resupplying.Lots of stuff to do before a long trip.”

“We’ll definitely all get together before we leave,” Hinata assured as Naruto started making his way down the hall.“I wouldn’t be able to go without spending some time with everyone first.”

“You’d better come by later,” Sakura muttered to Sasuke as he slipped away from her.“We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

“Yeah, yeah.See you around sunset.”He scowled while catching up to Naruto and Hinata, but it was clear that he wasn’t actually upset.It was plain to see that the separation would cause at least some amount of displeasure.

None of the trio spoke as they exited the tower, all walking slowly and deliberately eastward.There was no need to exchange words at the moment; they moved as if of one mind, feet carrying them along a rarely-trodden path around the mountainside.It wound steadily upward, circumventing the great stone faces and eventually arriving at the very top, above and behind all of Konoha.

Naruto found himself staring down at it, at everything he had ever known.Sure, they had been outside of the village on missions and for the exams, but this was different.This was to be a true departure, one whose length was so far indefinite.They could be leaving for weeks or years; it all depended on how long the investigation took.This was where he had grown up, where he had fought for and ultimately failed to earn the village’s trust.This had been the place of so much pain, so much joy, and everything in between.This was where he had been brought into a family, where he had made his first friends, where he had fallen in love.Maybe it was silly to be so sentimental, but he couldn’t help it.

“I feel like more is changing than just our ranks,” Sasuke remarked quietly, Sharingan glinting in the light of the rising sun.“Kind of feels foreboding, doesn’t it?”

“Not foreboding,” Hinata said after a moment, her hold tightening on Naruto’s hand.“Just . . . uncertain.But a shinobi’s future is never certain, is it?”

**_Do humans make everything dramatic?_** Kurama sighed.Naruto couldn’t help but grin.

_Shut up, you dumb Fox._ He continued aloud, squeezing Hinata’s hand in return.“Maybe not, but there’s one thing I am sure about: we’re going to figure this out, stick together, and come back a lot stronger than when we left.I bet if we work hard, we can make jōnin in just a few years.”Hinata smiled, and Sasuke scoffed.

“A few years?Not sure about you, but I’ll get there in one.I don’t intend to waste an opportunity to train under one of the legendary Sannin.”

“Do you really think we’ll be gone for that long?” Hinata asked quietly, the simple question enough to shut their banter up.Sasuke shrugged, and Naruto mimicked the action.No one knew.She seemed to shake and steel herself, a smaller smile finding its way to her lips.“The Sandaime told me about some interesting places throughout the Fire Country.I think I would like to visit some of them if we get the chance.”

Conversation lapsed, but it felt right as each of them went to his or her own thoughts.They had lived through a great deal as a team within Konoha, and a great deal more as individuals.Naruto had been given a second chance, family and dear friends.Sasuke had gone through hell and conquered his demons.Hinata had risen above her imposed fate and changed the Hyūga for the better.They had saved each other’s lives more times than could be counted, and now they had made chūnin together.Well, close enough to count at least.

“So much has changed, and keeps changing,” Hinata voiced for all of them after a time.She took Sasuke’s hand, who for once didn’t protest the gesture.He only stared ahead, beyond the gates of Konoha now, looking out towards the seemingly endless forest.Naruto gave her hand a squeeze, and she passed it on.

“But one thing won’t ever change,” he said quietly, taking a deep breath.“We’re sticking together, no matter what.”Neither of them cared how juvenile that might have sounded, instead only nodding in firm agreement.Naruto gave himself a shake, ready to move forward despite all of the uncertainty.He started back down that long path, walking purposefully towards their unknown future.Hinata and Sasuke were right there with him, every step of the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks.
> 
> We’ve reached the end of an arc, and the beginning of an adventure. Lots of things in the plot pipeline for this next long stretch that I’m pretty excited about!
> 
> Nothing in particular to note about this chapter, only a heartfelt thanks to the reviewers who’ve posted since last time – and of course the follows and favorites that have kept my writing going. I’m pretty sure I say as much every other chapter or so, but your encouragement and love of the story is what keeps these fingers moving every day.
> 
> Thank you Rhi for the splendid and invaluable editing; my scribbles would be a mess without you~
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> \- Wes
> 
> P.S. I’m working on a new fic now that I have more spare time, and might even post the first chapter before the next CFKD installment. Check the profile in a few weeks if you’re interested!


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